Let's Sing A Song!
by minahoru
Summary: A band named The Strangers is new in music industry. It's an all-girls band that now has its spotlight as one of the best performers in Japan. But there's another band: The Outsiders. It's an all-boys band and they are currently the most famous band.
1. The Strangers

**Disclaimer: **Higuchi Tachibana is the rightful owner of Gakuen Alice. And the songs that I used aren't mine.

**Author's Message: **For character familiarization, please visit this site (remove spaces): https :/docs. google .com /document/ pub?id=1BUVccxm_FZDTc089y7UM_p9H4jyv0Gwfcn7yoDzIOhU

It will help you understand who are/will be the characters.

And for the lyrics of the song in this chapter, the English translations are italicized while the Japanese are in bold.

×Ø×

**S T A G E - O N E**

_The Strangers_

minahoru

×Ø×

"Okay now!" Colorful lights flashed around the previously dark arena. People went berserk and cheered happily. "TOKYO! Are you ready to ROCK?" A man in a black suit, out of nowhere, showed with a microphone in his hand.

"YEAH!" The crowded audience shouted were in an open field, happily chattering about.

"Please welcome," A cloudy smoke appearedeffectively increasing the audience excitement, "_The Strangers_!" And suddenly an elevating platform came into view at the center of the big stage. The people cheered loudly, the voices growing louder as the violin started playing.

×Ø×

**Sha la la Forever you are my dear**_  
Sha la la forever you are my dear_

**Every time I feel you're within my heart  
**_Every time I feel you within my heart_

**Moshimo miushinattara, Michibiiteyo sonomede**  
_if I were to lose my sight, led me back with those eyes_

**Sorani hoshiga aruyouni, Umini namiyureruyouni**  
_as there are stars in the sky, as the waves swell in the sea_

**Fukaku sorekara hiroku**  
_deeply, and covering a wide area everlasting_

**Everlasting tsutsumi, uh, uh whoa, kitto**  
_we'll wrap around one another, I'm sure of it._

×Ø×

"Hey Natsume, don't you think they're pretty good?" A blonde haired bishounen with his cerulean eyes asked the lad beside him. His voice was fighting over the crazy cheer of the people around them.

"You think so?" The raven haired boy referred to as Natsume shrugged, practically shouting.

"To be honest, they're really good." Mochu admitted**.**

"I guess you're right about that Mochu but..." Yuu chirped in. He fixed his eyeglasses and rubbed his nose, almost worrying.

"We're better than them." Natsume continued with a scoff. He looked at the performers, "I have an idea..." a dangerous smile played on his lips.

"Looks like there's something smelly here, huh?" Ruka, the bishounen, commented as Natsume just smirked, leaving his mates in confusion.

The gang looked up the stage and watched the performers.

"Hi minna-san!" The singer shouted. Her brunette hair swung with the air as she went upfront, skipping. "Did you enjoy our first song?" The mass cheered a 'yes' as an answer.

"We thank you for being here with us!" The violin player in her pink hair beamed. She raised her violin then bowed to the throng.

"Well, before we sing another song for you, we are so proud to tell you that our album has gone PLATINUM!" Nonoko announced.

"All thanks to you guys!" The drummer with her dark green hair added.

"For that, here's our new song entitled: _Lost My Music_." Hotaru girl behind her flipped her pink hair and put the violin down exchanging it for the electric guitar. She then started playing the intro of the song.

×Ø×

**daisuki na hito ga tooi**  
_The person I love is far away,_

**toosugite nakitaku naru no**_  
So far that I'm almost crying._

**ashita me ga sametara**_  
When I open my eyes and wake up tomorrow,_

**hora kibou ga umareru kamo Good night!**  
_A new hope will perhaps be born, Good night!_

**I still I still I love you!**_  
I still I still I love you!_

**I'm waiting, waiting, forever**_  
I'm waiting, waiting, forever_

**I still I still I love you!**_  
I still I still I love you!_

**tomoranai no yo Hi!**_  
I just can't stop! Hi!_

×Ø×

Eleven songs were played by the band to please the crowd. The band was able to finish their concert superbly. They knew that it was worth getting exhausted from their performance because of the warm welcome from their fans. They signed autographs and consented to taking pictures. Subsequent to that, people slowly went home giving a hint for the band to leave the place too.

"That is so exhausting!" _Mikan_, the singer whined.

Sumire slugged her seaweed-like hair over her shoulders and heaved a long sigh at her friend. "You said it**.**"

After some minutes, a long black limousine came slowly reared up in front of them. One by one, they hopped inside the car and continued their chit-chats. The pink haired girl name _Anna_started the conversation.

"Hotaru," She faced the girl. "That is the longest sentence I've ever heard from you since we started performing in concerts." Anna said as the whole gang laughed.

"That's because I don't waste my saliva over stupid statements," Hotaru retorted. They laughed in unison and their conversation didn't stop.

×Ø×

Inside of a black sports car, another group was having their discussion. They were watching the band, _The Strangers_, in front of them step in the limousine.

"Heh," Natsume ran his fingers through his raven hair. "Goodbye to you, _The Strangers_." He said in a threatening voice.

"How scary," Yuu mocked. He started the engine which caused a roaring sound all over the place. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, we should. The gig ended really late." Ruka said exasperatedly. He looked over the clock and it read: 2AM. His companions nodded in agreement.

With that, the car went off the scene in an amazing speed.

×Ø×

It was a peaceful morning. The people were making their routines for the day and the birds were chirping happily. But all of a sudden the peaceful morning became chaotic and the birds exploded into violent reactions.

"Hwaa! I'm_laaaatttee!_" Mikan screeched. Her hair is in a messy ponytail and she fitted her clothes hurriedly. Her friends stared at her and shook their heads in dismay.

"Mikan stop shouting will you?" Sumire said her voice coated with anger.

Mikan looked at her with teary eyes and a chubby pout. "Bu-but my eye glasses aren't here and I'm—we're late!" She whined in panic.

Hotaru smacked her head hard making her yelp in pain. "You really are a stupid moron! You left them in the bathroom!" Hotaru said in a sermon tone as the gang laughed at Mikan.

"Gomen," Mikan sweat dropped and giggled at her own idiocy. She walked in the bathroom and saw her glasses placed near the faucet. She bit her lip and sighed, realizing her stupid forgetful mind. She then put her eyeglasses on, "Okay! Let's go girls!"

Walking out of the bathroom, Mikan lifted her thumbs up and winked. Her friends smiled at her and they went out of the room with their weird outfits.

_Mikan's disguise:_Rectangular eye glasses with black frame, a make up that makes her look like she has so many pimples and with her low ponytail, a nerdy girl is now in front of you.

_Hotaru's disguise:_Rings, bracelets, and necklace around the body of Hotaru. She wore mini skirt with her white tee-shirt, super thick make up, and her high ponytail—using a raven wig. You can see that she looks like a prostitute.

_Anna's disguise:_A simple pink dress with her pink hat, slight make up, and with her pigtails. Her disguise looks like a typical sweet girl of yours.

_Nonoko's disguise:_Also a little bit like the disguise of Anna but all of them are blue. She has her hair in low pigtails that are braided.

_Sumire's disguise:_A black shirt, black mini skirt, and black make up. Obviously, she is a Gothic.

Mikan and her friends were now in their school. As they walked in the hallway, the students ogled their eyes at them. Not because they were pretty but because they looked extremely horrible.

"Gee, here is the weirdo group," One of the girls said while pointing her index finger at Mikan in disgust.

"What? Oh no!" Another girl said putting both of her hands on her eyes. "Their looks are contaminated. I might go blind!"

"You know what girls; they really have to transfer to another school." The other girl stated while her group nodded in agreement.

"Where are the happy lucky girls?" The girl who had her hands on her eyes asked.

"There they are!" The girl pointed her forefinger somewhere which the girls' eyes followed. "Hah, the weird group is dead." the girl with devious smile said. All of them giggled.

Then suddenly a group of pretty girls blocked the way of Mikan.

"Hey! So how's life, _Toya Sakura_?" A beautiful gray haired girl greeted in a sarcastic way. She looked at Mikan in abhorrence.

"What do you want Luna Koizumi?" Mikan rolled her eyes at the girl.

"Ow. Not in the mood are we?" A further attractive woman raised her eyebrow and let out a smirk.

"That's right Wakako Usami, so back off!" Mikan shouted angrily and pushed Wakako and hit her back to her friend, Luna. She glared at Mikan but Mikan ignored it and walked ahead of them. Hotaru and the others followed her behind.

But Luna grabbed Mikan's wrist. "How dare you shout and push my friend?" She snapped and with that Sumire laughed cynically.

"So what?" Sumire asked and simpered. "Usami actually deserves it."

"You bitch!" The girl with her wavy hair, cursed, butting in the conversation.

"Who's bitchier than you Yura Otonashi?" Sumire asked with a smirk pasted on her face as Yura ran towards her and pulled her hair. With that Anna punched her on the face.

"No one touches my friend's hair you slut!" Anna said**,** pushing Yura in the garbage bin. Suddenly the other girl walked towards Anna and slapped her.

"Don't you dare do that again!" The girl warned as Anna just smirked and pushed Yura in the garbage again.

"Or what Yuri Miyazono? You will kill me?" Anna said, half-laughing.

"You—!" Yuri was about to say something when the bell rang, interrupting her moment.

"We're going to get you next time!" Luna roared as Mikan and the others looked at each other, shrugging, as a way to piss Luna and her group.

"We will never forget this day!" Shizune Yamanouchi yelled as they ran away from Mikan and her friends.

"Go ahead!" Nonoko shouted but the girls were nowhere to be seen now.

"Are all of you okay?" Mikan worriedly asked. They all spun their heads to Mikan and smiled at her.

"Yes Toya we're okay." Hotaru responded in assurance. The others nodded in agreement.

"Yokata! Mayi." Mikan sighed in relief as they walked to their classroom, hand in hand. The students in the hallway were left dumbfounded.

_That's why we're the strangers. Because, people in the school__don't__know that we are the famous girl band, The Strangers. And of course we wouldn't like them to know! So what if we're hated in school? The most important__thing__now is: Being with my friends forever with a goal to be the unbeatable band!_

Mikan smiled at her thoughts.

T.B.C

**Author's Message:**As you can see, I changed the names of some of the characters. They're not my characters anymore because I found out that it can be hard to memorize the names of my characters. I'll be using Higuchi Tachibana-sama's characters from now on so please refer to page one and look at the characters once again.

**Translations:**

Bishounen: A pretty/beautiful guy.

Minna-san: Everyone.

Gomen: Sorry.

Yokata: That's good.

**Credits:**

If you want to see the whole lyrics of the songs that I used, you can go to these sites where I copied a part of it. It'll be more interesting to listen to the songs I used as you read the chapter. Please remove the spaces.

Love and Honesty by BoA (http: /www. boajjang. ?id= 214) and (http: /forums. boajjang. ?showtopic= 23316)

Lost My Music by Aya Hirano (http: /lyrics. darkmirage. com/?SongID= 83)

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	2. Transferring

**Disclaimer: **Heads up to Higuchi Tachibana-sama!

**Author's Message: **Compare to the first chapter, I think this is going to be really long.

×Ø×

**S T A G E - T W O**

_Transferring  
_

minahoru

×Ø×

The sun softly entered as the moon calmly moved out; a day has yet to start again. People were mostly awake and walking to their perspective destinations by now. Everyone was in a peaceful trance.

In a big building of _Notes_, a group of boys were arguing about a certain topic.

"What do you mean we have to transfer you _freak_?" A raven haired boy furiously asked. He glared at the lad in front of him.

"Natsume, you see, the CEO wants it." The said lad sweat dropped. "You know that I can't talk back if it's _Jin-jin_." He explained to the enraged ebony-haired boy named 'Natsume'.

"But Tsubasa, you also know that we don't do things without getting something." The light brown haired guy butted in.A smile was playing on his lips.

"Shut up, Koko. You're not helping." The lad retorted and glared at the boy.

Tsubasa sighed exasperatedly. He is the manager here, for Pete's sake! Why should it be him explaining this thing? A manager is supposed to be the one who declines and accepts. So what the hell is this situation he's in?

"Although I think Tsubasa is right too. I mean, if it's the CEO then we can't do anything about it." Ruka commented which gave Tsubasa such delight. Suddenly, a flower appeared on Tsubasa's head. His body wiggled and gave the blond guy a tight hug.

"Oh Ruka, it's only you who understands me." Tsubasa chirped while Ruka turned white. Disgusted, he freed himself from Tsubasa. But Tsubasa insisted on hugging Ruka.

"I don't want to." All heads turned to the owner of the voice.

"Come on, Natsume!" Tsubasa hissed.

"Which part of _'I don't want to' _can't you understand?" Natsume's eyes fired splinters at Tsubasa. Then he walked away and banged the door behind him. The others shook their heads.

"What a pain…" Tsubasa said, massaging his nape.

"Tell me, Tsubasa. Jin-jin really didn't say the reason to you?" The nearly bald man asked. He rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. "That's just odd."

"Actually, I find it odd too, Mochu." Tsubasa scratched his head. "I was wondering if Jin-jin heard of the rumor that the Metier's famous band _'The Strangers'_—No, no. It's just impossible for Jin-jin to believe that."

"The Strangers?" The boy in his glasses furrowed his brows. "Isn't that the band that we watched yesterday?"

"Yes, Yuu. That band is a big threat, as what Jin-jin said." Tsubasa stated. He pouched his lips out. "There's a rumor about them. It says that the band members are studying in Gakuen Alice. It's the same school that Jin-jin wants everyone to study at, too."

"Is that so?" Ruka raised his brow. "The rumor wouldn't have started if there was no witness." The boys looked at Ruka, eyes opened wide.

"Maybe that's the reason after all!" They chorused. Ruka blinked, startled by the sudden outburst.

"W-we never know. We shouldn't jump conclusions." Ruka sweat dropped, waving his hands upfront.

"Doesn't matter, Ruka," Tsubasa grabbed Ruka's shoulders and looked at his eyes. "I'm counting on you."

"E-eh?" Ruka looked behind Tsubasa only to see Yuu, Koko, and Mochu nodding in agreement. "W-whaaat?"

"Natsume listens to you…" _Somehow_, Tsubasa thought."So if you'll tell him that _The Strangers_ is in that school then he'll absolutely and immediately transfer there!" He exclaimed in glee.

"B-but—"

"We're counting on you, Ruka!" The four of them chorused.

Ruka sighed and just nodded, admitting defeat. "Fine**.**"

×Ø×

"Toya**.**"

Alluring hazel brown eyes looked in front from her plate to the raven haired girl sitting perpendicularly. "Mayi, why? You look serious." Mikan furrowed her brows, worried by her friend's look.

"Eh? What is it, Mayi?" Anna cheerfully inquired.

"Mayi-chan?" Nonoko asked.

Hotaru lifted her head and heaved a sigh. "I've been bothered by the rumors about us."

"Eh? Oh! You mean _that_?" Mikan smiled. "Misaki-chan already settled that. She already told the witness to keep quiet."

"It's my fault for being so careless," Hotaru groaned. "If only I didn't remove my wig I—"

"Mouu, Mayiii~" Mikan cut Hotaru's sentence. She pouted. "It's not your fault that the wig tickles you."

Hotaru let out a tired groan. She'd been worrying about the guy who saw him last week when she removed her wig temporarily. The wig is really heavy and because she's not used to long hair, it's been tickling her to death. When she put the wig back she realized someone was watching her behind the gates of the school premises. The next day, the rumor came to her that _The Strangers _are studying here in disguise. They learned that the guy was a high school student. _How the hell can I be so careless_? She thought.

"Still, the students didn't stop looking for us." Hotaru said, hiding her guilt behind her gritted teeth.

"Well, no one will notice us!" Sumire laughed. "With this look? No one will dare to inquire us."

"Right, Pitchi-chii!" Anna and Nonoko chorused.

Although Mikan acted as if she wasn't worried,she was also taking notice of the things that might happen. Preparing for theworst is the best thing to do. She looked around her. Students were happily chatting with each other while eating their lunch. She smiled**;** students really love break time.

"Saa, let's dig up!" Mikan said as they all started eating their food.

×Ø×

"N-Natsume…" Ruka sweat dropped at his best friend who was sulking on the table. Natsume had a big lump on his head because when he walked out of the room and left Tsubasa (with Ruka and the others) he barged in Jinno's office. The CEO's office.

"He doesn't have to hit me with his clock," He groaned. "That oldie."

"W-well what do you expect? You suddenly yelled at him." Ruka laughed nervously while Natsume snapped his head and glared at him.

"I was just asking why he's forcing us to transfer!" Natsume annoyingly retorted.

Ruka sighed. "And?"

"And I told him that's bullshit," He crossed his arms over his chest.

"And?" Ruka asked, raising his brow.

"That's all!" Natsume gritted his teeth. Ruka tilted his head to left. "I—Fine, I told him that I'm not old and stupid like him to attend school."

Ruka shook his head in dismay. He then imagined the whole scenario in his mind.

"_Oi, oldie! Why do you want us to transfer? That's bullshit! Besides, I'm not like you! I'm not old and stupid that I have to attend school! __The same applies to __my band mates!"_

"Natsume, you have to be careful with your words with the CEO you know." Ruka scratched the back of his head and walked beside Natsume.

"I don't really like him." Natsume grunted.

"But I don't think he doesn't like you." Ruka said. Natsume's cheek twitched and he turned pale. Ruka narrowed his eyes. "Natsume-baka, I don't mean it that way! Aho!"

"I know but I can't help but feel disgusted." Natsume gulped.

"Anyway," Ruka started. "You should accept the fact that you'll attend school."

"And why's that?" Natsume raised his eyebrow.

"Because we'll find out if The Strangers are really studying in that school."

×Ø×

Mikan and Hotaru, after the break time, were tasked to clean the backyards of the school since they came late. After all it was Makihara-sensei, the hateful teacher of Mikan in Social Studies. Hotaru and Mikan sighed in unison as they started cleaning.

"Ne, Hota—Mayi," Mikan called. Hotaru looked at her. "If…it's nothing."

"Toya, you know that I don't like suspense. Tell me what's bothering you." Hotaru rolled her eyes as Mikan giggled.

"Well, I'm just wondering what will happen tomorrow." Mikan raised her head up and stared at the beautiful fluffy clouds.

Hotaru raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I'm having this great feeling that tomorrow is going to be a nice and interesting day." Mikan beamed at Hotaru and laughed when she saw that Hotaru wasn't listening anymore.

'_Everyday's beautiful and interesting because you're by my side.' _Hotaru thought and smiled a little. _'Baka.'_

Mikan bent down and picked up some rotten leaves from the dead Sakura tree. She looked sadly at the leaf in her hand. "They're transferring, eh?" She muttered. _'The Outsiders…'_

She remembered her conversation with Youichi last , while Mikan and Hotaru were walking to the hallways, her brother Youichi called her.

_Mikan flipped her ringing phone. "Hello?"_

_**Nee-chan, have you heard? Jin-Jin is forcing The Outsiders to transfer in your school.**_

"_What?" Mikan's eyes __widened__. "Are you sure about that, You-chan?"_

_**How can I not be sure about this? The ruckus has been lingering around the office. And I just **__**happened**__** to see Natsume-nii enter Jin-jin's office.**_

"_Alright, alright. Thanks You-chan."_

_**No prob. Bye nee-chan!**_

With that, Mikan heaved a long sigh. _'Why would Jin-jin order those idiots to transfer here? Did he __find__ out that we're studying here?' _She shook her head_. 'Impossible…'_

"Toya, it's time for the next subject already. Let's go." Hotaru said, putting her hand on Mikan's shoulder.

"Ah, a-alright." Mikan replied, waking from her thoughts. She stood up and started walking with Hotaru.

"Really. If there's something bothering you, tell me." Hotaru worriedly said. Mikan just smiled and shook her head at her.

"It's nothing, Mayi." She assured.

×Ø×

Natsume's crimson red orbs stared at Ruka's cerulean eyes, widening. A smile was forming on Ruka's lips, amused by his friend's reaction. Natsume narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"I can't be deceived," Natsume muttered but loud enough for Ruka.

Ruka laughed. "I'm serious, dude."

"Shut up," He glared at Ruka. "I _know _you."

"That's the answer Natsume," Ruka pulled his tongue out. "_You _know me. I won't lie about this. And I didn't say _The Strangers _band is in that school. We just need to confirm if they're in there."

"So you think we should really transfer." Natsume said in a serious tone.

Ruka nodded. "Jin-jin said they're a threat to us."

"Okay. We'll transfer." Natsume said as Ruka pursed his lips into a smile. "But on one condition."

Ruka growled. "What now, Natsume?"

"I want Aoi to transfer with us." Natsume smirked.

"Natsume-nii!" Natsume and Ruka looked back and saw a boy running towards them. The girls blushed at the sight of the boy. Then he stopped with his hands placed on his knees, catching his breath.

"Ruka," Natsume called but didn't take his eyes off the boy. "I also want this boy to transfer with us."

"Eh?" Ruka blinked and glanced at the boy. The boy lifted his head to his sempais with a question mark on top of his head. "Y-you…are you serious?"

×Ø×

Meanwhile, Mikan and the others were in their English class. Serina-sensei, their teacher, was teaching unfamiliar English words.

"This!" Mikan stood up and made her chair fall. "I'm _so _not feeling good."

The students looked at her with sweat drops while Serina's vein popped. "TOYA SAKURA! YOU'RE DISTURBING MY CLASS!"

T.B.C

×Ø×

**Author's Message: **This is a complete new chapter two. If you are my reader in the past Let's Sing a Song you'll see the big changes. Well, guess who the boy that Natsume wanted to transfer with them is! Let's all see the next chapter! Guesses are highly accepted via reviews.

**Translations:**

Baka: Stupid.

Aho: Idiot.

Nee-chan: Sister.

Nii: Brother.

Sempai/s: Elder.

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	3. Youichi Hijiri

**Disclaimer: **GA will never be mine. That sucks.

**Author's Message: **I'd like to thank my reviewers! I'm happy that you like my story. For that, this chapter is dedicated to those who read my chapters!

×Ø×

**S T A G E – T H R E E**

_Youichi Hijiri  
_

minahoru

×Ø×

"N-NOOO!" The boy in front of Natsume and Ruka shrieked. His eyes were opened wide in disbelief and he had a big sweat drop.

Natsume smirked. "And why not? Don't you want to go to school?"

'_Curse you!'_ Youichi thought. He only came to see his sempais to confirm about the transferring. He never thought that Natsume would want him to transfer too! At least, not in his wildest imagination.

"That's because I'm home schooled." Youichi replied.

"Youichi, it's better in school. Besides, Aoi will study there too." Ruka said, smiling. He assumed that if Youichi didn't agree Natsume might not transfer. It's his condition, after all.

Youichi glared at Ruka. "And you think I'll transfer for that reason?"

"Hm, you like Aoi-chan right?" Ruka said as he tried hard not to laugh.

"No! What makes you think I like that…that…_creature!_" Youichi blushed furiously while Ruka turned around and made a silent laugh.

Natsume slapped Ruka's shoulder. "Shut up Ruka. Don't laugh."

"B-but I-I can't he-help it!" Ruka, in between laughs, replied.

"Argh! I'm outta here!" Youichi said as he stomped his feet away.

Ruka's laugh died down. He looked at Natsume. "So what now?"

"Tell Jin-jin my condition." Natsume stood up. He tucked his hands in his pockets. However,he spotted a card lying on the floor, so he bent down and picked it up. His eyes showed astonishment.

Ruka walked beside him. "What's that?"

"It's nothing." He said calmly, putting it in his pocket.

Ruka shrugged. "In any case, if they won't transfer with us, I mean Youichi and Aoi, you won't transfer too?"

"Obviously," Natsume grinned while Ruka sweat dropped and shook his head.

×Ø×

Mikan sulked as she placed her head on her table. Anna and Nonoko looked at her with their chins placed on their hands. Just a minute ago Serina-sensei made her way out of the class. She was the last subject of the day. But before that**,** she shouted and punished Mikan and told her to go out of the classroom until the class ended.

"I can't believe that you just shouted in the middle of the class." Hotaru snickered as she hit Mikan's head playfully.

"It's because…argh, mou!" Mikan frustratingly pulled her hair and gritted her teeth. Anna tried to calm her down.

"Anyway, you guys might've forgotten,but Misaki-senpai told us to wait at the entrance now. She'll pick us up in ten minutes." Sumire said, butting in the conversation. The group stood up and walked out of the room.

Mikan gloomily sighed. "I haven't told everyone**,** but actually, there's going to be a great commotion tomorrow here in school."

All heads snapped to Mikan with questions written all over their faces. But before Mikan could open her mouth to continue, Misaki hit the horn, capturing the girls' attention. They went towards it and hopped inside.

"So Mikan, you were saying?" Nonoko asked.

Misaki raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Were you talking about something?"

Anna bobbed her head while Misaki nodded in comprehension with an 'hm' sound**. **Then she started the engine and made a roaring sound. After that, the car ran with an amazing speed.

"You see,You-chan called me this afternoon," Mikan started as the others listened intently.

"He said Jin-jin was forcing _The Outsiders_ to transfer…" She gulped and saw her friends' reaction. They don't like being hanged in mid-sentence. "Transfer to our school."

"N-NAAANNNIII?" All of them chorused, making the car wiggle at the burst.

"Why did you tell us this just now?" Sumire angrily asked and flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"And I asked you a lot of times what it is that you've been thinking about!" Hotaru glared at Mikan. Mikan flinched and sweat dropped and mouthed 'sorry'.

"Of all the schools in Tokyo, why Gakuen Alice?" Misaki growled in irritation. Then she punched her horn five times. "Damn this truck! So slow!"

"M-Misaki-senpai, calm down." Nonoko said as she waved her hands and patted Misaki's shoulder. She was sitting beside Misaki in front of the car.

×Ø×

"Darn it," Youichi muttered as he walked in the hallway, catching every girl's attention. He stomped his feet and had been murmuring things that only he can hear. "Those sempais!" Then he stopped. Suddenly he faced the wall and his vein popped as he started kicking the wall as hard as he could.

"Ara," A little voice said. "You-chan pissed? What a rare scene!"

Youichi looked back and saw a girl a little shorter than him. Her black shoulder length hair shined brightly and her crimson eyes stared at him closely. All of a sudden her cheerful mood changed into an evil one.

"It makes me so happy that You-chan is in pain." Her voice icily stated, like a murderer threatening a victim.

Youichi turned pale. "A-Aoi…"

"Ohohoho," Aoi cackled."I shall guess. Someone turned you down because of your lame modeling, right?"

"No." He flatly replied.

"Ehhh? Then, someone dumped you and said you're ugly?" She widened her eyes, scaring Youichi.

"No dummy," He sighed exasperatedly.

"Ah! A stupid acting in a commercial!" Her eyes shined in glee.

"No! What the hell is wrong with you?" Youichi shouted. His closed fists stayed on his sides and madly looked at Aoi.

"Tch," Aoi stuck her tongue out. "It should be something connected to showbiz." She pouted to think.

"Whatever. Think whatever you want to." Youichi said as he turned his heels away, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Waah! You-chan, tell me!" Aoi cried and ran to Youchi's side. She shot him puppy-dog eyes with her closed fists under her chin. Youchi made his pace quicker but Aoi kept up.

"Don't follow me!" Youchi shouted.

"Not if you don't tell me why you're so pissed off." Aoi stubbornly said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Youchi groaned. "Why do I ha—" He stopped and looked at Aoi. "You**.**"

"Me?" Aoi raised her brow.

"Did you know about you transferring in Gakuen Alice with your brother?"

×Ø×

"So, Nogi, are you telling me to force Aoi Hyuuga and Youichi Hijiri to transfer so that _The Outsiders_ will accept my offer to transfer in Gakuen Alice?"

Ruka lifted his head to face Jinno's back. He was sitting on his big black chair behind the long table, facing the big window. Ruka nervously nodded his head and muttered a 'yes' as his reply. Jinno twisted his chair and looked at Ruka.

"Aoi is not a problem, but Youichi is impossible." Jinno said, fixing his eye glasses. "After all, I don't know anything about that boy. I've tried asking help from CIA to gather information about that boy but it seems that someone is backing his info and hiding it on purpose."

"What do you mean by that, Jinno-sama?" Ruka furrowed his brows. "Don't tell me that the Youichi that we know might not be him at all?"

"There's a possibility." Jinno answered.

"Why did you accept him in the company?" Ruka asked. It seems that Youichi was the only staff in the company who didn't have any background.

"Because he thinks the company is trapped in his plans. Little did he know that it is him who is trapped in my plans." Jinno said and smirked. He tapped his pen on his table as he stood beside Ruka and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Do you have an idea who's hiding Youichi's info?" Ruka looked up at Jinno's face. He flinched at the sight of Jinno's dark aura.

"Yes, of course." Jinno widened his smirk. "But I'll keep that as a secret." He walked to his door and turned the knob. "For now, I shall fix the problem with Natsume. That conceited arrogant boy." His voice was coated in anger and annoyance as he closed the door behind him, leaving the confused Ruka.

"Youichi Hijiri," Ruka sighed. "Really, who are you?"

×Ø×

"Mikan-chan, Please move a little forward!"

Mikan nodded and obliged with the photographer. They were having a pictorial for their new album named: FIX ME**,** so their attires were like wrecked girls. Messy hair, choppy lips, scratched skin, torn dress, and untidy make-up.

Mikan was the one in front with Anna and Nonoko at her sides. Anna hung her arm around Mikan's shoulder while Nonoko placed her head on Mikan's other shoulder. Down them, one knee of Hotaru was down and Sumire's body depended on Hotaru's shoulder with her head facing the camera.

While _The Strangers_ were at their pictorial, inside of an enormous office, Misaki was sitting on a sofa. The office was decorated in Arabian style and so, and the staff inside were wearing costumes.

"Misaki-san, how are the girls?"

Misaki turned her head to the owner of the voice. She pouted. "Mou, Narumi-sama, you never ask about me."

"Ah. Gomene." Narumi laughed.

"Well, they're doing fine for now. But I don't think Notes will just sit back and enjoy the show." Misaki said. She looked at the skylight and pulled out a soothing expression.

"Youichi hasn't been found out by Jinno. I know that it is very dangerous that I decided something like that for You-chan, and that's why I'm doing my very best to protect him." Narumi said. His serious face made it look like he wasn't afraid of anything.

"Setting that aside," Misaki looked at him from head to toe. "What on earth are you wearing?"

"Hm?" Narumi stared at Misaki's eyes. He guffawed. "It's a new design from Saudi Arabia." He cheerfully said and twirled around the room.

"Oh and have you heard about _The Outsiders _transferring in Gakuen Alice?" Misaki said, changing the topic. Narumi looked at her and nodded as he went to take a seat beside her.

"Youichi called me about it, after he called Mikan-chan." Narumi crossed his legs and waved his hands. "There's nothing to worry though. I'm sure Jinno heard about the rumor and wanted to see if it's true."

"You mean the one where Hotaru took off her wig?" Misaki asked.

"Yup!" Narumi chirped**,** and out of the blue the phone ringed. "Ah, I'll go answer it."

"Alright, I'll go ahead." Misaki said as she started walking towards the door.

"Hello?" Narumi whispered. Misaki slightly turned her head to Narumi. "You? Transfer?"

Misaki raised an eyebrow then walked back beside Narumi, placing her hands on the table as she waited for Narumi to finish talking on the phone.

"Come in this office, now!" He shouted furiously, making Misaki startled. "I said now!" With that, he banged the phone and took a seat on his chair as he rubbed his forehead.

"W-what happened, Narumi?" Misaki nervously asked.

"Youichi," Narumi looked at her and worry was seen on his face. "He said Natsume wants him to transfer to Gakuen Alice too. And it is one of his conditions before they can make him transfer."

×Ø×

Youichi sighed as he flipped down his phone and put in his pocket. Well, who wouldn't get mad about his news to the Metier's CEO. Of course, Narumi is girly and cheerful, but he is serious when it comes to work.

"I need to go," Youichi said to Aoi, who was sitting with him in a café.

"Eh? Where?" Aoi pouted. "And that brother of mine! I'll get him for deciding without my permission! How dare he? I don't want to go to school!"

I'll go now, see you." He stood up and started walking away.

"Ah! Wait, Youichi!" Aoi ran beside him and held his hand. "I just have to tell you that if…"

Youichi tilted his head and waited for Aoi to finish her sentence. "What?"

"IfyouwilltransferthenIwilltoo!" With that, she ran away from Youichi's side. Youichi looked around him but she was nowhere to be seen. _Man, that girl is fast._

"What the hell, I didn't catch what she said!" Youichi groaned. "Great, now I'm curious."

×Ø×

"So what now, Natsume?"

"What 'what now' Koko?"

"Don't, 'what, what now' us Natsume!"

"Shut up, Mochu."

"But Natsume! I'm looking forward to studying again!"

"You are such a nerd, Yuu."

Ruka shook his head in chagrin, placing his hand on his forehead. Since he came out of Jinno's office, his band mates have been talking about transferring. And all of them were trying hard to make Natsume agree. Though until now, Natsume's answer didn't change.

"Meet my conditions then I'll go." He answered stubbornly.

"Oh come on!" Koko growled then rolled his eyes. "That's obviously impossible!"

"Youichi Hijiri will not agree!" Mochu whined and battered his closed fists on the table.

"And! And! Aoi-chan doesn't like You-chan! They're _eternal _rivals." Yuu cried while raising his hand.

"So what? It's not like Aoi wi—" Natsume stopped in the middle of his sentence and widened his eyes. "Youichi?"

"You get it, right? It _is _Youichi!" Koko said and smirked.

"No stupid," Natsume glared at Koko then pointed his forefinger somewhere. "Is that Youichi?"

Heads snapped to where Natsume pointed at.

"Oh shit! That's him!" Mochu shouted and pointed his index finger too.

All of them thought the same thing. They walked out of the waiting lounge in the building and went to Youichi's destination. They caught too much attention and had to stop, but Youichi went on.

"Oi chibi!" Natsume called as Youichi looked back. His eyes widened as Natsume cracked his famous smirk. "Stunned?"

"What do you want, senpai?" Youichi asked.

"How about telling me about this?" Natsume pulled out a card out of his pocket. Youichi's jaw dropped and went pale.

"That's the card that you saw last time, right?" Ruka asked as Natsume nodded his head. Youichi went to reach for the card but Natsume snatched it away from his reach"What about it, Natsume?"

"Hm, it's just that the card says: _Youichi Sakura _instead of Youichi Hijiri."

T.B.C.

**Author's Message: **Phew! A very long chapter for everyone! I just hope everyone likes this. Actually, my update might get slow because it'll be the start of my school on June 1st. But no worries everyone since I'll update this every month. I'd like everyone to read my other stories too!

**Translations:**

Nani: What

Ara: Oh my

Chibi: Little one

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	4. Unspeakable

**Disclaimer: **Main characters belong to Higuchi Tachibana but the story plot belongs to me. Song that was used belongs to the respective composer and singer. Please respect us, the owners. :)

**Author's Message:** HEE. I wonder when I will update this next. But I assure everyone that my stories are my first priority. Please eulogize for my best beta-reader, Irrevocable Truth. Now my stories are decent. X3 I'm sorry if this chapter is short. T^T I made this in a hurry~

×Ø×

**S T A G E – F O U R**

_Unspeakable_

minahoru

×Ø×

In an air conditioned Italian restaurant at the center of the big conurbation of Tokyo, the poor Youichi sweated a great amount. He kept his head down from his senpais, who eyed him in a scrutinizing way. The waiter soon came to their table to serve their meals and, much to Youichi's glee, to ease the tension a little.

"So," Natsume, the one he feared most because he picked up his ID, started. "Until when are you going to make me wait for an explanation?" He took a sip of his chrysanthemum tea.

Youichi brought up his head as his gray eyes gazed into Natsume's crimson orbs. "I d-don't need to make clear of anything." Although his voice staggered, he was surely a brave one to answer his senpai back. He gathered his pride as his lips slowly pulled into a smirk. "It is for me to know and for you to find out,_ senpai_."

Natsume cringed at his kouhai's smirk and at the way Youichi pronounced the last word – full of presage. "Then it is alright if we will investigate about this." He didn't say it as a question, but as a warning.

"Sure," Youichi smugly accepted. He felt his vibrating phone underneath. He was positive that it was Narumi who was keeping his phone vibrating since he had clearly told him to come to the office_ a long time ago, _yet there he was with _The Outsiders_.

"Another thing," Natsume crossed his arms over his chest. "You will transfer with us."

"That only depends on a certain someone." Youichi immediately retorted. He bit his inner cheeks and panicked inwardly. He needed to be careful with his actions now that Natsume was suspicious of him.

"And that's me." Natsume, as conceited as he was, jumped to conclusion.

"No," Youichi grinned. He knew that his senpai would answer him that, so he already thought of his comeback. "It depends on your sister, senpai. Aoi Hyuuga."

No one knew that his reply was a mere lie.

It depended on_ his _sister.

×Ø×

**Bokura ga wakachiau kotoba ga aru**  
_We have a word that we share_

**Kokoro kara kokoro e koe wo tsunagu yell**  
_It's a yell that connects our voices, one heart to another_

**Tomo ni sugoshita hibi wo mune ni idaite**  
_I'll hold the days we spent together in my heart_

**Tobitatsu yo hitori de tsugi no sora e**  
_And take off alone to my next sky_

×Ø×

Mikan and the others were listening to their new song in Narumi's office as they chattered happily. Their pictorial was successful and they were now waiting for their posters and billboards to come out. Misaki and Narumi congratulated them for their hard work and promised that their work would be paid off with something other than their salary.

"A treat for a beach wouldn't be bad." Mikan chortled and her mates bobbed their heads in agreement.

"Wouldn't it be too much? You're just a new band after all. There are many happenings to come." Misaki smirked and shrugged. She looked at Narumi for support but Narumi was too tense. He kept walking back and forth. "Naru, what the hell is happening with you?" Misaki raised her brow.

Narumi stopped and snapped his head to Misaki. "That-" he looked at Mikan. "Your brother is talking_ too_ long to arrive."

"Y-you sound like something bad happened." Mikan nervously said. "And it's dangerous to let You-chan enter this place..." Her face showed worry. After all, Narumi wouldn't call Youichi unless it was something important. Hotaru and the others stopped chatting, noticed the tension, and took the topic seriously.

"What, Naru?" Hotaru turned her attention to their CEO.

"It's just that..." He paused. "Do you think we should let You-chan transfer to Gakuen Alice?"

×Ø×

"That little," Natsume gritted his teeth.

Youichi left the gang a few minutes ago with dumbfounded faces. The kid was able to leave with a nice, final shot to them that even the arrogant and egotistical Natsume Hyuuga wasn't able to retort against. Not only that, he even left without paying for his meal! What guts! Certainly, our Natsume was pissed off more than what you could imagine.

"Ha...hahahaha!" Koko was the first one to laugh, and afterward the others did the same.

Ruka pointed his index finger at his frowning best friend whose face was getting redder with time. "We...we were defeated by a fifteen year old boy!"

"I don't want to remember our reaction!" Mochu added. Yuu agreed by nodding his head as they all continued to laugh.

But Natsume retained his frown and silence. These guys should know that their leader is not a comical person, neither was he someone who would laugh at his own embarrassment. Natsume banged the table with his fist, glared at them, and stood up. He walked away with his hands tucked in his pockets and left his group in silence.

Those guys would never understand. He has to come up with something to make that Youichi transfer. He was sure that there was something behind that boy and he bet it had something to do with _him_. When he first saw that boy and suddenly asked him if he could be a senpai, he already knew Youichi would be a mystery. Youichi was dangerous. Youichi must be avoided. Add the fact that he had another surname which is unknown to everyone. Even Youichi's manager whom he already ordered to keep an eye on Youichi for him didn't have the chance to know this_ Sakura_ surname. Because if the manager did know this, he would've immediately report it to him or to Jin-Jin.

×Ø×

In the hallway of Metier Agency, a devious laugh could be heard.

Youichi, by the time that he stepped out of the restaurant and after he heaved a sigh, had never stopped laughing. Good thing that it was already late at night and there were only a few of Metier's employees. Although the guard who let him through wondered why Youichi acted as if he had won something. Well yeah, he did win in a contest between his famous Natsume-senpai and him. And he couldn't believe it since Natsume Hyuuga was renowned for being a very difficult opponent.

He stopped in his tracks in front of the big door and killed his laugh as he twisted the knob and poked his head in.

"It's going to be fine, Naru!" He heard his sister chirp.

"B-but, are you sure?" That croaking voice, it was definitely Narumi.

"Yep, yep!" His sister cheered.

"Alright," Narumi sighed.

"We won't be discovered even if Youichi will transfer, you know?" She shrugged her shoulders with a guffaw.

Transfer.

So Youichi was going to transfer. It all depended on his sister's decisi-

"WAIT!" Youichi went in and charged ahead to the group. He faced Mikan with his widened eyes as he put his hands on her shoulders. "I...I will freaking transfer to Gakuen Alice? Are you out of your mind?"

Now who won again? Was it Natsume or Youichi?

×Ø×

Natsume went in his house and as he entered, their maid greeted him. He gave his jacket to the maid. "Where's Aoi?"

"She's in her room, Natsume-sama." The maid replied, wrapping the jacket around her arm. "Would you like to have dinner, Natsume-sama?"

"I already did. Did Aoi eat?" Natsume walked in and the maid followed him behind. He put his accessories away.

"Yes, Natsume-sama." The maid said. As they were walking, Natsume stopped in front of his sister's door. "She's not yet asleep, Natsume-sama. You might want to visit her." Natsume nodded so the maid knocked twice, earning a 'yes' from Aoi before she opened the door. "Aoi-sama, Natsume-sama is here to see you."

Aoi's face brightened but then she remembered about Gakuen Alice, which made her dark side appear. "Nii-chaaan." She sung scarily. Natsume turned pale as he entered his sister's room. The maid closed the door behind them and Aoi found it as her chance. She threw herself on top of her brother, pushed him to the floor, and took a tight grip on his neck.

"A-Aoi...do no-t kill me!"

"Why, why, why?"

"Let me explain-"

"Why only now? You should have transferred me earlier, nii-chan! And you have to make Youichi transfer with me! If not, I will really, really, really kill you! I will go to a far far away place where you won't be able to see me anymore! I'll tell Ruka-nii and the others to leave you so that The Outsiders will be dissolved! I wi-"

"AOI!" Natsume unlatched Aoi's hands from his neck. "Calm down, will you? Geez."

Aoi stood up and dusted her pajama as she went to her bed. She cuddled her bear with a pout. "I hate you, nii-chan."

"I thought I told you to get rid of_-chan_? I prefer -san, Aoi. _Nii-san_." Natsume went to take a seat on Aoi's bed while Aoi stuck her tongue out childishly. Natsume sighed. "Anyway, so you want to transfer with Youichi?"

"Yeah." Aoi answered.

"And why's that?" Natsume smirked.

Aoi's face turned red. "B-because...That's because it'll be unfair if I'll be the only one multi-tasking! He is my rival in showbiz! If I will study and at the same time be in showbiz it will be unfair if he is just concentrating in showbiz! That will be a great opportunity to bring my career down! And, and-"

"Alright, alright, you've explained enough." Natsume rubbed his forehead and sweat dropped. How come his sister is so much talkative while he is so lazy to talk? "But I'm not going to buy that."

"Eh?" Aoi screeched.

Natsume grinned and stood up, ready to leave the room. He was about to walk out of the room when Aoi pulled his arm. He looked back and saw his sister, head down. Aoi let his arm go while he faced his sister. He opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, but Aoi held her head up. His eyes widened at how much his sister's face got red. She was madly blushing!

"Nii-chan," She started. "Promise me that you will keep this as a secret." She waited for Natsume's reply but heard nothing. Not even a gesture. "Mou, nii-chan answer me!"

"Hn."

Aoi groaned and just took her brother's answer as a yes. She inhaled a big amount of air, "You see, I have...I'm in lo-" She shook her head. "Youichi is...I have a crush on him!"

T.B.C.

**Author's Message: **So far, my college days are doing good. To be honest, I updated this story because there's this band in my new school that made me crave for writing a chapter of Let's Sing a Song. The band name is nice too! It is the "Crucified" band. XD They perform Paramore songs although they also have their own composed songs. Haha! Just sharing~

**Translations:**

Nii-chan: Brother

By the way, senpai and sempai...I think they have the same meaning. :D

**Credits:**

The song that was used is entitled YELL by Ikimono Gakari.

For the Romaji and English Translation please copy this link.

The spaces will be deleted. Please listen to the song. It's good.

http:/ / lyrics/ ikimonogakari/ yell. html

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	5. Unveiled

**Disclaimer:**Main characters belong to Higuchi Tachibana but the story plot belongs to me. Song that was used belongs to the respective composer and singer. Please respect us, the owners. :)

**Author's Message:** This is all I can say, _**I'm sorry for the late update!**_ In this story, I presume that I haven't said a single thing about their age? Well now, you'll know! Please read and review!

×Ø×

**S T A G E – F I V E**

_Unveiled_

minahoru

×Ø×

It was early in the morning. The people of Tokyo had already begun their respective journeys. As everyone knew, Tokyo was a busy city with countless people walking on the streets. It was a city wherein there were more people walking than using cars.

For this one particular boy with grayish hair, people walking were stupid.

Youichi sighed as he looked at the people on the streets. He rested his chin on his hand. He was in his limousine, waiting for the time to get to his school. But it was not only him. His co-company star friends were with him.

"You-chan," Aoi said, "are you listening?" She went closer to Youichi and removed his earphones.

"What the hell is your problem, little girl?" He exclaimed.

"Little girl? What, you think you are so mature? You are also just this-" She pulled out her 1¥ from her pocket, "-little too, you jerk! Good for nothing!" She threw the money on him and crossed her arms.

Youichi picked up the coin and smirked. "Thanks." He said, raising the coin to Aoi.

"Now, now, lovers—"

"We're not!" Aoi and Youichi chorused.

Koko sweat dropped. "Err…alright, kids and not lovers, stop arguing. Get ready because we will be at school any minute."

Natsume slapped his sister's shoulder. Aoi looked at him with a pout while he smirked at her. It was as if he was telling Aoi to thank him now that her _crush____was going_to the same school as hers. Aoi glared at Natsume and the others laughed at them.

×Ø×

"Geez! I'm late again!" Mikan screeched as she hurriedly fixed her hair into**a**low ponytail. She went downstairs, put bread in her mouth, and grabbed her bag. "Wof! I going ngaw! I sufer layk!"

Yuka, Mikan's mother, went out of the kitchen with her hands on her waist. "Really, what are you trying to say? You shouldn't talk when your mouth is full, Mikan."

"Now, now, let go of your daughter today. She's really late. But Mikan," Izumi, Mikan's father, said, "why were you in casual attire last time you went to school?"

Mikan pushed the whole bread in her mouth and gulped an amount of water, "Oh, that? It was because at that time, the uniforms weren't finished yet." She smiled at her parents and went towards them. She kissed her parents**'** cheeks and hugged them.

"Alright, my dear," Yuka wiggled out from Mikan's tight hug, "here's your lunchbox. Good luck for today's school!"

Mikan nodded and went out of their house. Assoon as she closed the door after her, she pulled out her thick eyeglasses from her bag and wore it. She sighed, feeling guilty towards her parents who didn't know a single thing about her status in school. She can't be beautiful in front of the students;she can't allow them to know about her real identity.

And worst, she can't come to school with her one and only brother.

Suddenly, a car stopped in front of Mikan's house. Its window opened, and revealed Hotaru."Hey Toya!" She shouted. "You wouldn't want Makihara to shout at us if we were late, right?"

Mikan laughed. "Right! Besides, today's the freshmen day!" She went in Hotaru's car and greeted Anna and the others a good morning. "Now, let us transform to our ugly appearance!"

"YEAH!" They all chorused.

×Ø×

Gakuen Alice, one of the most illustrious schools in Japan. It has the finest facilities among the schools in Tokyo and known as the school of perfectionists. Any kind of fraternities and gang has been banned in this school. The school's high standards allow only the best to enter; subsequently, Gakuen Alice has been producing the great people in the country. Some became politicians, lawyers, doctors, celebrities, and many more that are top notches…

"T-this school is _that _great?" Yuu fixed his eyeglasses and blinked his eyes a lot of times in amazement. He was reading the cemented book in the park of Gakuen Alice.

Koko bumped his head with Yuu's, "Oy, what were you reading? And wow! It's been awhile since I last seen you wearing glasses, freak!"

"That hurts, Koko. Anyway, I was reading this – it'sfull of compliments about our new school." Yuu replied.

"I heard that this school has high standards." Ruka butted in and smiled at both guys. "You guys are not actually allowed here, you know?"

"What the hell? What do you mean, Ruka?" Koko raised his brow.

"You're dead! Come here!" Yuu charged ahead at Ruka and grabbed his neck. Koko slapped his head while Ruka struggled against them.

"How can you be friends with them, senpai? You are too different compared to these immature guys." Youichi stood beside Natsume and shook his head at Ruka and the others in dismay.

"Tch, I don't think there are friends that are the sameas me." Natsume said and smirked at Youichi. He patted the boy's head and said, "Don't think as if you are mature, little one. You're still thirteen."

Youichi glared at Natsume as he slapped his hand away. "Shut up. You don't know what this thirteen year old boy can do. Besides," Youichi simpered, "you don't want to know why I'm your kohai."

"Is that a warning?" Natsume asked.

"Maybe." Youichi shrugged.

×Ø×

"Toya, hurry up!" Sumire cried as they all ran towards the closing gate of Gakuen Alice. All;except for Mikan. She was still in the car.

"Where isit?" Mikan mumbled angrily under her breath.

"Geez, Toya!" Hotaru ran back to Mikan's side and tried pulling her out of the car. But Mikan just wouldn't let her do so.

She slapped Hotaru's hands and continued looking for something. "Go ahead, Mayi. I can take punishments."

"Toya, what is it that you're looking for?" Hotaru irritably asked her friend and crossed her arms.

"I'm looking for my freaking eyeglasses! I can't find it anywhere! If I don't have it, students might recognize me!" Mikan said in apanic.

"Let's just go. Don't worry; they won't recognize you that much." Hotaru stated. She pulled Mikan out of the car and ran to the gate.

It was just a matter of seconds before the gates closed behind them. Both of them heaved a sigh as if their lives had been saved. Mikan smiled at Hotaru; they continued walking. Anna and the others were waiting for them.

"What were you doing back there, Toya?" Anna asked Mikan.

Mikan shook her head, "It's nothing. Why don't we just go to the classroom? We're really late."

"Tch, changing the topic." Anna pouted. They all laughed at their silly friend.

"Ah, 'minds me. Have you forgotten to wear glasses, Toya?" Sumire blinked her eyes in wonder.

Mikan choked as Hotaru patted her back. "She misplaced it."

"Oh God. Seriously?" Nonoko gasped and put her hands on her mouth.

Mikan wasn't even listening to her friends right now. She was looking at her little brother as he was surrounded by the stars from their mortal enemy company. _Notebook_, she angrily thought, gritting her teeth. Youichi suddenly looked back at her in disbelief. Mikan smirked. He was probably shocked by his sister's appearance; how she looked exactly opposite of her true façade.

×Ø×

Youichi was done talking to Natsume. It was not bad to make his senpai worry a little about his existence, right? He just hoped that he wouldn't be discovered yet. He was looking around the school as his senpais were having fun, teasing, and playing together. It was good that Aoi didn't join them in the park. Or else, she would be bothering him all the time. It felt so relaxing in the school grounds. Now he knew why his sister wanted to go to school every day and refused to be home schooled.

Then as he spun his head to the right, he saw agroup of girls walking along the hallways. They all looked weird, but his instincts were telling him that he knew those girls. He shrugged. Then suddenly, he caught the girl in alow ponytail looking at him. He narrowed his eyes. Maybe the girl was looking at him because she knew that he was the famous model. Or it can also be because The Outsiders were with him. But when the girl smiled at him; his heart beat stopped.

"You-chaaaan~" Koko hung his arm around Youichi's shoulders. "What are you looking at?" He followed where Youichi's eyes were looking.

"Hey you two," Mochu called the two lads, "it's time to go!"

Youichi immediately looked away. "Nothing, Koko-senpai." He abruptly stood up, throwing Koko out of balance. He joined the others who were now out of the park, and moving towards their respective classes.

When Koko regained his posture; he looked back at the group of girls. He raised his eyebrow. He was sure that the girl in thelow ponytail was looking at Youichi and that she wasalso looking straight at him. _Those auburn eyes…I think I__'ve seen __them before_.

"Chibi! Don't tell me you have someone you like among those girls?" Koko shouted and laughed as he went to catch the others.

Youichi glared at him. "No way, dumb!" He ran faster and got away from Koko, leaving the others behind.

Koko stopped and looked back at the hallway. Then he shrugged and sighted for Youichi. "H-Hey! Wait for me!"

Ruka, Yuu, and Mochu sweat dropped at the two. While Natsume just peacefully walked with them.

×Ø×

When Mikan and the others entered the room, everyone was in amess. It was very noisy and rowdy. There were students' playing cards, singing loudly, fixing hairs, and throwing things as if it would be their last day on earth. Mikan was wondering why the students acted like this. The_ 'weirdo' _group already took their seats, and Misaki entered the classroom. By that, everyone went back to their places and it became a very peaceful classroom.

"Alright guys," Misaki started, "have you heard of someone transferring to our school?"

The class started murmuring things. Mikan and Hotaru looked at each other as if they were talking. After all, they knew about the transfer issue of _The Outsiders _in the school. Plus there was Aoi Hyuuga and Youichi Hijiri joining the rumpus.

"Sensei, we haven't heard any news about that!" Luna screeched. It must be hard to believe that the Queen of clique wasn't informed about this.

"Should be that way. We made this a secret to everyone." Misaki stated. Hotaru rolled her eyes. If it was a secret to begin with, why would he even ask the students if they heard about it? It was a good decision that she didn't raise her hand and tell him that she heard about that news. "Come in."

_The Outsiders _filed into the room. At first, everyone widened their eyes and dropped their jaws, but time passed by andthe impression of the class turned to a big uproar. Girls were all squealing; boys were raging in jealousy. Despite that, Mikan and her group of friends didn't even flinch at the sight. What more?_The_Luna Koizumi seemed to be quiet and unmindful about the commotion.

"Everyone must know them, right? There's no need for anintroduction?" Misaki inquired his students. Unfortunately, no one was listening to him. They were all busy staring and squealing at the guys.

"Sensei, I don't know them…"

The attention all went to Luna. Yes, to Luna Koizumi. All of them looked. Even _The Strangers_and _The Outsiders_ were dumbstruck. Did someone just say she didn't know the current top band in Asia? This was as simple as_1 + 1_in math! Unbelievable!

"Y-You don't know Natsume Hyuuga?"

Luna stared at her, looking as clueless as ever. Mikan's jaw practically dropped. She wasn't expecting a girl like Luna - who almost knew _everything_ about school - notto know _The Outsiders_.

×Ø×

He was pissed off…very pissed off about the scenario at school just awhile ago. That girl; he was sure she was just acting like that. It was probably one of the Métiers antics since they found out that they will transfer at the school where _The Strangers_ are.

But that Luna Koizumi was very familiar to him.

He angrily heaved a sigh and grabbed his microphone. Ruka and the others looked at him in worry as Natsume signed forthem to start. Koko nodded and snatched his sticks. He counted one-to-three while hitting the sticks with each other.

×Ø×

**Wanna be your love tsukinukete iku MONOKURO ni kaete**

_Wanna be your love breaking through, changing the monotones_

**The world covered with restraints dakedo hikari ha subete no hito he furisosogu**

_The world covered with restraints but the light shines incessantly on every person_

**Dakara susumu no sa hatenai michi naki michi he**

_That is why, advance towards the never-ending pathless road_

×Ø×

Mikan and the others were walking along the school grounds, towards their secret place – somewhere the rest of the student population wouldn't find them. As they were walking, Mikan was in deep thought. Was it true that Luna Koizumi didn't know _The Outsiders_? Of course, she knew that Luna was a diehard fan of _The Strangers_. So how come she didn't know the mortal enemy of her favorite band? That was really absurd.

Although it was a good thing that she saw Natsume Hyuuga's reaction about it. There was nothing that could make her laugh like a mad man after she saw Natsume's pissed off face. Mikan, then, bumped her head on Nonoko's back.

"Ow! Nono—Saya, why did you stop?" Mikan whined as she rubbed her red nose.

"Shh! Quiet, Toya." Nonoko said. Mikan pouted and see where her friends were looking at.

"What are you looking at?" She giggled chaotically. Nonoko and the others snapped their heads to her and glared at her angrily. "Alright, I'll be quiet." Mikan bit her lips and tip toed to see what was happening.

Mikan immediately put her hands on her mouth. Just what the hell was _The Outsiders_doing in their secret place? Not to mention, they were performing their songs! Were these guys planning on taking away their secret place? They already took her bonding time with Youichi, and now this? Unforgivable!

×Ø×

**Zutto kimi to arukitai****motto habataite ikou**

_I want to continuously walk with you__we'll flap our wings more on and after_

**Kitto mitsukerareru kara****mayowazu massugu susundeku**

_But we'll certainly discover [the place]__we won't lose our way by walking straight_

**Zutto kimi to arukitai****motto habatakeru hazusa**

_I want to continuously walk with you__we'll flap these embarrassing wings_

**Mayowazu massugu****susumeba ii sa**

_We won't lose our way by walking straight__it's good to go forward_

×Ø×

_H-His voice is beautiful…_

Mikan couldn't help but think of something traitorous to their band. But what could she do? She was ultimately moved by Natsume's hoarse and sweet voice. He was also expressing his emotions in such a fabulous way. She felt nostalgic just by seeing him perform. She woke up from her thoughts when _The Outsiders_ went out of their secret room. They all waited for them to disappear before going inside. Hotaru had to pull her since she looked really star struck.

×Ø×

_The Outsiders_ were making their way to the parking lot. Today was sure a tiring day for their first day. Ruka was silently walking beside Natsume while the others were noisy about today's activities. It was normal for them since it was their first time entering a school. And maybe that was why Natsume was not angry about the babbles of his band mates.

"Ah!" Ruka shrieked.

Everyone went silent, startled by the lover-boy.

Natsume raised his brow to his best friend. "What?"

"I've been wondering what I forgot back in that isolated room. I forgot my guitar pick!" Ruka scratched his head in frustration and started to walk back to where they came from.

"We'll go ahead, Ruka." Natsume shouted. Ruka nodded.

"Geez, how can I be so stupid?" Ruka laughed at his own stupidity. "Anyway, where was that room again?" He went back and forth along the hallways. Then he saw the dirty white door. He was sure that it was the room that they used since its knob was black—a very rare color for a door knob.

He was about to twist the knob when he suddenly saw agroup of girls changing their dresses. He wasimmediately taken aback and blushed like a red tomato. His heart was beating really fast. You really can't blame him, right? After all, he is still a guy.

"_Ne, Hotaru, can you zip my dress?"_

Ruka widened his eyes. _Hotaru? _He thought.

"_Mikan, can't you see that I'm also trying my best to put this freaking shirt on me?"_

"_Waah, so rude!"_

"_Mikan, come here."_

"_Thank you, Anna! And not for you Hotaru."_

"_LOL, Mikan. You two are really cute for best friends."_

"_Shut up, Nonoko!"_

"_You all are so childish."_

"_Why, Sumire, you think you are so lady-like?"_

"_Whatever!"_

Ruka shook his head and began to think carefully about what was happening. He can't just barge in and expose the enemy of their band right? Wait, does that mean that _The Strangers_were really studying here in Gakuen Alice? Then how come he hasn't seen them since this morning? Were they…NO! It was impossible for them to be in disguise.

Right? Ruka slapped his forehead and started to slip out of the place. He needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. He needed to run to Natsume and the others and tell them what he just saw. That's right; everything will be over for _The Strangers_. Yes, now he would like to have confere—

"Who are you?"

Ruka spun his head to his back. Hotaru and the others went out; they were behind the shocked Mikan. Ruka sweat dropped. What was this situation he was in now? What would he do? Would he just run away or stay?

"R-Ruka Nogi?" Mikan narrowed her eyes and went near Ruka.

"Y-Yo, Mikan Sakura…" Ruka went farther.

_ And farther…_

_ And farther…_

_And farther…_

Then…he ran away.

**"**_**A-AHHH! COME BACK HEEEERRRREEE!**_**"**

T.B.C

**Author's Message: **I really am sorry for my late update. I won't get tired of saying sorry to everyone again and again. So, most of you probably forgot the plot? Uh, I hope not yet. Anyway, I'm thankful for those who read and reviewed the previous chapters! I will update this next Monday because I want my readers to enjoy this story. It is a promise!

**Credits:**

I do not own the lyrics as I only copy-pasted them from various sites.

Across the Boarder by **ViViD **- _thewhite-roses of livejournal_

Dear by **ViViD** - _dearxdeparted of community livejournal_

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	6. Lies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Gakuen Alice manga/anime. :)

**Author's Message:** Please read and review!

×Ø×

**S T A G E – S I X**

_Lies_

minahoru

×Ø×

"Natsume, Ruka is taking too long." Koko stated.

They were in their car, waiting for Ruka at the entrance. It had been thirty minutes since Ruka left to go back to the isolated room. Natsume frowned at the sight of a policeman who was walking towards them. It was probably because they were parked in a towing zone.

The policemen knocked. Natsume turned his window down. "Sir, this is a towing zone."

"I know that. I can actually read the sign." Natsume nonchalantly replied. The boys at the back laughed, and made the policeman blush in embarrassment.

"T-Then if you know please move out of this place!" The policeman exclaimed.

Natsume shrugged, closed his window, and drove away.

×Ø×

Ruka was running towards the entrance. He was absolutely sure that his band mates would be there waiting for him. He could hear the loud voices behind his back, asking him to stop running. When he arrived at the entrance, he saw no one but a policeman roving around.

He stopped. "You…Natsume you traitor!" He shouted.

"H-Hey Nogi!" Ruka turned back and saw Mikan running towards him, followed by the other girls.

He dashed off somewhere as he tried to catch his breath, all the while blaming his band mates for being such traitors.

"P-Please stop! Just for a while!" Mikan pleaded. Her pace was slowing down, but she needed to catch Ruka. "Nogi-kun! Just stop for a while! I promise I won't catch you!"

Ruka raised his brows. "What the hell?" He replied, but not stopping from running.

"It'll be unfair if I'll be the only one to stop! You should stop too! I won't catch you! Promise! If I catch you, spank me! Throw me over a building! JUST PLEASE STOOOOPPP!" Mikan fell on the ground flatly. It was good that Hotaru and the others were still not there.

Ruka stopped and looked at her. He blinked and sweat dropped. "T-There, there, there. I already stopped."

Mikan looked at him teary eyed, still lying down on the ground. "Thank you. I practically feel like dying from exhaustion."

Ruka covered his mouth, trying hard to stop himself from laughing. He went towards Mikan and bent his knees. Then he laughed out loud, so much that he had a hard time from stopping. "I-I've never laughed this hard before…"

"E-Eh?" Mikan crooked her knees and blushed. "You look cute when you laugh though…"

The voices of Hotaru and the others were nearing them. Mikan looked at Ruka with wide eyes. Ruka gulped hard and was about to get up, but Mikan grabbed his hand. Ruka looked down at her and started to struggle.

"You pr-promised—"

"Do not tell your band mates about this, Nogi-san." Mikan said. She stared at him with such honest eyes, saying her request. "Please. I'll explain it to you later, but not now. Hotaru and the others won't let you go."

"S-Sakura…"

"Just go now. I'll take care of them." Mikan smiled.

Ruka nodded and ran his way out. Hotaru ran towards Mikan who was acting hurt on the ground. Hotaru bent her knees on the ground and worriedly examined Mikan. As for Mikan, she watched Ruka's back fade. Hotaru looked at where Mikan was looking and saw Ruka. She was about to stand up but Mikan held her ankle.

"Ouch!" Mikan exclaimed.

Hotaru hesitantly looked back at her. "Are you alright? I need to catch Nogi. Wait here—"

"No, Hotaru!" Mikan shouted.

"What?" Hotaru asked.

"I-I mean, send me home now. Don't worry about that…that jerk…" Mikan bit her lips and tried to sound so true. She never mastered lying to people.

"But what if he reveals us?" Hotaru insisted.

"He has no proof. I'm really hurt, so let's go." Mikan responded immediately.

×Ø×

Ruka heaved a sigh and thanked Mikan in his mind. He was just hiding behind the wall and was watching Mikan talk to Hotaru. You never know, Mikan might not have been able to make Hotaru believe her. But now that he was seeing them going back, he wasassured that they would not catch him.

"That Natsume," Ruka gritted his teeth in anger. His phone suddenly vibrated; he was startled. He took the call, "Hello?"

"_Where the hell are you, Master Ruka Nogi?"_

Ruka rolled his eyes as he recognized his best friend's voice. "I should be the one asking you that. I'm here near the entrance."

"_Alright. Don't move a muscle there."_

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ruka dropped down the call and shook his head. He should calm down now. Maybe there was was a reason why Natsume wasn't at the entrance. Still…! Ah, whatever.

×Ø×

Natsume immediately started the engine of his car and dashed to the entrance. Yuu, Koko, and Mochu were shocked by the way Natsume drove. There was nothing to hurry, but why was Natsume in such panic?

As for Natsume, he was sure that Ruka was freaking pissed off. He knew his best friend too much, and he knew that something bad must have happened to Ruka to sound _that _angry. And if the angelic lover-boy is mad, for sure, he had gone through something he didn't want.

While driving, his eyes caught two girls walking slowly the road. The other girl was supporting her friend. They looked very familiar to him, but he forgot where he saw them._Auburn and raven hair_, he thought. He abruptly stopped the car, making his friends at the back.

"What the hell, Natsume!" Koko hissed.

Natsume went out of his car, not minding what happened to his friends. He searched for the girls whom he saw just awhile ago.

Mochu opened the window of the car and looked back where Natsume was looking. He saw no one, and looked at Natsume. "What was it, Natsume?" He irritably asked.

Natsume slowly shook his head. "Nothing…" He went inside the car and calmed himself down.

×Ø×

Hotaru laid Mikan on the ground with the tree supporting her back. Hotaru hooked her phone out of her pocket and dialed some numbers. Mikan looked at her in wonder; Hotaru felt her stare and looked back at her.

"I'll ask Misaki to just fetch us here. It'll not be good for you to walk anymore," Hotaru said, and Mikan heaved a sigh. Mikan thought Hotaru would leave her and catch Ruka on her own.

After Hotaru talked to Misaki on the other line, she watched her best friend's actions. She suddenly remembered when Mikan shouted at her awhile ago. _"No, Hotaru!" _It was as if she was stopping her from knowing something about Ruka.

Also, it was somehow suspicious of Mikan to act hurt when she didn't even sprain her ankle. Of course, Hotaru would never say a word that she knew Mikan was just acting. Hotaru wanted to know what Mikan was thinking.

"Have you seen Youchi, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, interrupting Hotaru's deep thoughts.

"I don't think I saw him," Hotaru answered.

"Hm…Do you think we have a hectic schedule tomorrow?" Hotaru raised her eyebrow. She almost laughed with the way Mikan changed the subject that fast. Now she was certain that her best friend was nervous and hiding something.

"Why? Ask Misaki; not me. I'm not the manager," Hotaru said. Mikan pouted and nodded her head.

Out of the blue, Anna and Nonoko called out their names. Hotaru and Mikan looked behind them and saw their band mates in the car. Mikan stood up and Hotaru tried to help her; they both went in the car.

×Ø×

Ruka was in the car, but no one dared to talk or even breathe louder than the flapping of an insect's wings. Natsume was in deep thought as he drove the car. He didn't even argue about the last incident with Ruka. He was not worried about the angry Ruka; rather, he was thinking about the two girls whom he saw before.

Ruka was the same. He was staring blankly outside and was thinking about what happened back then. Mikan was explicitly kind and open minded. But on the other hand, maybe Mikan was planning something. Right, she said she would explain the details later. Then, when is that later? How would she contact him without knowing his phone number? And those details might be something she planned to cover the reality!

"Ruka, where do you want to go? That Tsubasa stupid is not calling us yet. We might as well have fun while waiting for his call." Koko said, breaking the ice.

"Yeah! Why don't we eat dinner now? It's already five," Yuu chirped. Mochu nodded his head, and the three argued where they should eat dinner.

The trios tried hard to break the ice, but both Ruka and Natsume were quiet. They didn't know if Natsume and Ruka were angry with each other or what, but they could sense a bad feeling about their silence. They all heaved a sigh and made a decision to just keep quiet and make Natsume drive where he wanted.

×Ø×

It was already the next day. Mikan was lying on her bed as the sun shined pass her window. Her alarm clock was ringing nonstop, but it never got its master to wake up. This time, Youichi was standing by her door. He had his arms crossed and he looked pissed off. He went towards his sister and pulled her blanket, causing Mikan to drop her head on the floor.

"Aww…" She groaned. "Who the—!" She immediately withdrew her scream towards her brother with a sweat drop. "Hi, bro. Long time no see."

"Care to explain why you looked like shit in school?" Youichi said and tapped his feet on the ground.

"Mikan, You-chan, let us eat breakfast!" Yuka, their mother, shouted downstairs.

Mikan smiled nervously, "How about we forget about that and eat breakfast instead?"

Youichi rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever."

He closed the door and left Mikan inside her room. Mikan heaved a sigh of relief and went in her bathroom. She was brushing her teeth, but all of sudden an idea occurred to her. Her eyes widened as she rushed out of her room without even removing her toothbrush. She grabbed Youichi's hands, and almost slipped.

"What the heck?" Youichi was startled by the sudden appearance of his sister beside him.

Mikan pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth, "You-chan, the number!"

"What?" Youichi raised his brow.

"I'm sure that you know the number of Nogi Ruka!" She shouted in glee with much anticipation in her eyes.

"Ruka…Ruka what? Nogi? Why?"

"Please, please, please, give it to me!" Mikan kneeled in front of him, pleading with puppy eyes. She kept pulling Youichi's arms.

Youichi irritably went out of his sister's tight grasp, "What the hell is your problem? And why do you need Ruka-nii's number?"

Mikan looked up to Youichi, smiling widely. "You have it right? Don't ask me anymore and give it to me!" She hugged Youichi as rigidly as she could and made Youichi choke.

×Ø×

_The Outsiders_ were having breakfast in their apartment. They'd always lived together since their debut with Tsubasa. Since they were all men and lazy to make food for everyone, they always called for a delivery.

"Ruka, this pizza tastes awful!" Koko blurted and gulped his glass of water.

"It is cheaper than Pizza Hut." Ruka reasoned.

Natsume rolled his eyes at Ruka, "You should have bought Pizza Hut instead of this unknown pizza."

"It's Henry's Pizza." Ruka smiled. Others glared at him, and he just bent his head down as he ate his food.

Tsubasa grinned at them and shook his head in amusement. He was about to join them to dine but he was interrupted by a phone ring. He went to the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" He asked.

"_Ehem. Ah, yes. Uhh…is Nogi-san around?"_

Tsubasa blinked a lot and looked at Ruka who was laughing. "Well, may I know who's on the line?"

There was ruffling sound and he could hear whispers on the other line. Tsubasa was getting suspicious of the caller and was about to drop it, but the girl screamed._"I'M HIS GIRLFRIEND!—Wait, I mean, I'm Mikan Sakura and—"_

Tsubasa choked on his saliva and accidentally slipped the phone. He took the phone again and asked, "What? G-Girlfriend?"

Natsume and the others spun their heads at Tsubasa. They thought it was probably another call from a random woman saying she was a girlfriend of one of them. Tsubasa looked so red. They weren't sure if he was embarrassed or what. Natsume walked towards the stoned Tsubasa and took the phone out of his grip.

"Get lost, bitch." Natsume said and was ready to drop the call.

"—_Hyuuga-san!"_Natsume tilted his head and put the phone on his ear.

"Who's this?"

"_Please let me talk to Nogi-san!"_

"And why so?"

"_I just need to tell him something…"_

"I don't want—"

"_Alright, alright! Just tell him that I'm going to Notebook's building. I have an interview there, so I'll take that opportunity to meet him. Okay? He knows who I am already. Say something about explaining what happened yesterday. Bye!"_

"Wai—"

Toot, toot, toot, toot.

"What the hell?" Natsume muttered. He placed the phone back and looked at the dumbstruck Tsubasa. "What was that, freak? Who is that woman?"

"T-That was Mikan Sakura…" Tsubasa said, without even looking at Natsume. He was staring at the air blankly. "S-She said she is Ruka's girl…friend…"

Natsume was quiet for awhile. His brain was not running well. "…"

"EHHHH?"

Koko, Yuu, and Mochu chorused. Ruka widened his eyes as all of them looked at him in disbelief. Ruka waved his hands, trying hard to look like he didn't know anything about this. He sweat dropped as all of them walked towards him until he was cornered.

"What happened yesterday, Ruka?" Natsume asked. His arms were crossed as he looked at his best friend, scrutinizing his actions.

"Mikan Sakura? That girl of The Strangers?" Koko inquired. Ruka gulped his saliva as he sweated a lot.

"Jin-Jin will kill you!" Tsubasa warned. A lightning and thunder suddenly struck out of the clouds.

Ruka's mind was in total shock. He was not mentally and physically ready for this kind of situation. Whatever the case, Mikan Sakura was to blame! He would definitely make sure that Mikan would never be able to go out on the streets when he met with her. For now, he needed to get out of his friends' inquiries and stares.

"Fine. I'll tell you all the truth." Everyone stood back and waited for Ruka. He cleared his throat and fixed his outfit. He bit his lip and closed his eyes as he breathed in. "I…Mikan Sakura…Mikan is **my** _girlfriend_."

T.B.C

**Author's Message: **I'm supposed to update earlier. But you see I had my finals. And it is now my second term in my college. Those new teachers and those entire thingamajigs. :)) Oh, the next chapter will include songs and introductions to the parents of Mikan and Natsume. ^^

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	7. Best Friends

**Disclaimer:** With the usual disclaimer, I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. Bow to Higuchi Tachibana.

**Author's Message:** I've made big errors in the last few chapters and it made me very frustrated. Guys, I'm sorry if ever some of you got confused. The agency of the company of The Outsiders is named _Notes_ and Notebook is just my **big** mistake. So everyone, Jinno's company is _Notes_ and not Notebook. Also, Youichi's age is **thirteen**! Not _fifteen_! I'm so sorry for the mistakes I did. I'll never do that again. ^^a

By the way, because of_ I-don't-know _reasons, my beta-reader is still not passing me back the chapter of one of my stories that I gave her. Meaning, she is too busy to proofread my works for now, so I'm posting this temporary to justify that I and this story is not on-hiatus. Actually, it was November 2 when I finished writing this chapter. I hope my grammar is not that confusing to everyone.

×Ø×

**S T A G E – S E V E N**

_Best Friends_

minahoru

×Ø×

"S-Stop hugging!" Youichi struggled. Mikan let him go and giggled. Youichi turned and walked towards the door and was about to go out to dig in some food downstairs, but he was stopped when Mikan banged the table.

"The number, _Youichi_. Now." Mikan said in serious tone. Youichi gulped and sweat dropped as he immediately hooked his phone out of his pocket, searched for the number, and reached it to his sister. Mikan would always call him _You-chan_ but calls him Youichi when she's dead serious.

"Here. It is actually the number of their house." Youichi said nervously. Mikan slowly curved her lips upward to a genuine smile and quickly snatched Youichi's hand phone.

"I love you, You-chan!" She squealed sweetly and ran to the telephone. Youichi got dumbstruck with the sudden change of his sister's mood. _Scary_, he thought. He watched her dialed the number and waited for her to speak up. "Ehem. Ah, yes. Uhh…is Nogi-san around?"

Youichi's heart beat turned rapid. Somehow, he thinks this would be something he would regret. Suddenly, Mikan laid the phone on his bed. She looked at him; he looked back. Mikan mouthed 'Come here!' so he did. She was in panic and sweats were starting to form on her forehead. He was afraid of the serious Mikan and he was now nervous of the panicked Mikan. Something was not right. Something bad was going to happen.

Mikan pulled Youichi's collar and whispered, "He is freaking asking who I am! What should I say?"

Youichi was taken aback. "What?" He screamed silently. Mikan slapped him and signed him to keep his voice down. "I don't know!" He said, looking really scared and worried for his life.

"I hate you 100 times, Youichi." Mikan said in a low voice and glared at him.

"Whatever. I don't care anymore. Go die for all I care, I'm outta here." Youichi immediately ran out of his room before Mikan could catch him anymore. Mikan made faces when she wasn't able to grab Youichi's polo.

Then Mikan saw the phone on the bed. She lost her self-control and clutched the phone. She could feel on the other line that the one who answered was about to drop the call, so she hurriedly thought of a word to make it stop from happening. "I'M HIS GIRLFRIEND!" _Oh shoot!_ She thought. She was just saying the words that first came into her tiny stupid mind. "—Wait, I mean, I'm Mikan Sakura and—"

Her words were cut off by the loud thud that was made by the other line. She blinked a lot and asked herself if the other line dropped the call already and if her last words were heard. She punched her head and blamed herself, but before she could throw curses at herself more she heard some crackle sound.

_"What? G-Girlfriend?" _The man on the other line asked her in bewildered.

"What? No! That was a mistake! I just…I wasn't thinking right! What I meant was I'm a friend of Ruka's that is a girl! Yeah! That! I'm sorry if ever I freaked you out! By the way, who are you anyway? And—"

_"Get lost, bitch."_

Who the hell is he to say that to her? Mikan could tell that the voice was different from before. She thought first, then she remembered a guy who would dare to say that to her. "Hyuuga-san!"

_"Who's this?"_ He asked. Mikan was sure it was Natsume because he didn't deny it and even answered back. "Please let me talk to Nogi-san!"She shouted.

_"And why so?"_ He nonchalantly asked. Mikan gritted her teeth in frustration and bit the phone's cable. Then she calmed herself down and said, "I just need to tell him something…"

_"I don't want—"_ Mikan rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright! Just tell him that I'm going to Notes' building. I have an interview there, so I'll take that opportunity to meet him. Okay? He knows who I am already. Say something about explaining what happened yesterday. Bye!" She said in one breath and instantly dropped the call. She stood up and went out of Youichi's room towards the dining table.

"Good morning everyone!" She chirped and took a seat parallel to Youichi. Youichi glared at her and rolled his eyes at her.

"Good morning to you too, Mikan!" Yuka greeted back and brushed Mikan's long hair.

"Pass me the ham, please, my dearest brother." She said, and made Youichi looked like he was going to puke. Youichi never liked his sister talking sweet to him. He passed her the ham as she reached it and put some on her plate and started to eat. Their parents laughed to another bickering of their children.

×Ø×

"Your girlfriend?" Natsume said, raised his brow, and broke the ice.

Everyone turned like stones and wasn't able to utter a word. Ruka sweat dropped, gulped, and nodded at Natsume. Natsume, on the other hand, doubted his best friend's confession. He was watching his best friend's actions every other time, so he couldn't just believe that his friend has that kind of relationship with Mikan—which, for him, is a _bitch_. As much as the adjective sounded rude, he just hated the guts of Mikan.

And certainly, he never saw Ruka with Mikan. Never; in his entire life with his best friend.

"If you were lying Ruka, just say it. I mean, you've got to tell me the truth so that we could solve it together." Natsume stated, trying to see if Ruka was lying to them. He had this wrong idea that _The_ _Strangers_ might have blackmailed him to do this kind of _dirty_ issue.

Especially the thing about what happened to Ruka yesterday when he immediately fetched Ruka because he knew that something bad happened to Ruka. Something that Ruka didn't like. That maybe, _just maybe_, Ruka met _The Strangers_ at school and told him not to say anything about it.

"It's true, Nat. You know that I'm bad at lying; especially to you." Ruka said and sighed, still backing what he confessed.

"That's why I'm hesitating to trust you, because I know that you are lying." Natsume shot him a glare.

Ruka looked back at him; not even flicking his eyelashes. "I'm not. Come on!"

Tsubasa and the others were just listening to the conversation between the two best friends. For them, these two people were the most impossible men to understand. And that was the only reason they could think why they became best friends. They could understand each other when others couldn't.

"Whatever, Ruka. After all, we need to go. We're going to be late for our taping." Natsume shook his head and turned his back at Ruka. Then he looked back at Tsubasa, "Right, freak?"

"Yeah. You guys will have a taping for your latest music video at Metier Agency but that will be really later. Around five more hours." Tsubasa explained. The guys nodded their heads in comprehension. Then realization struck Tsubasa and frowned at Natsume, "And don't call me _freak_, kiddo!"

Natsume shrugged and it sparked Tsubasa's anger. Yuu and Koko immediately held Tsubasa to stop him from going to Natsume. Ruka shook his head for the sudden change of his friends' attitude. Then suddenly, the phone ringed. They all stopped the chaos and looked at the phone ringing. Ruka took one step ahead and gulped. He was so hoping that the caller was not Mikan.

He took the phone and looked at Natsume whose arms were crossed and was looking at him intently. "Hello?"

"_This is Notes Agency's Hello World. Is this the residence of The Outsiders?"_

×Ø×

The Strangers were on the hallway, running for their lives. Well, actually, running late for their interview in the building of Notes Agency. Of course, as usual, it was Mikan's fault why they have to run as fast as a horse.

"I don't see why you always have to look for a thing and be its reason to be late, Mikan Sakura." Sumire shrieked in frustration as she was the one leading the group to their destination.

Sumire Shouda was once a staff of Notes Agency before she was discovered as a drummer of the group that the Métier Agency founded. This was why she was familiar with the place and became the guide of The Strangers. They were now taking a shortcut route towards the studio that they should have been for the last eighteen minutes.

"I couldn't help it! I'm born like that!" Mikan retorted.

"Like, we'd blame Yuka-san for that?" Hotaru rolled her eyes and slapped Mikan's head.

"Hey!" Mikan pouted and tried to revenge but Hotaru ran beside Sumire as Mikan wasn't able to catch up with her anymore.

As they all entered a studio, all the crews, staffs, managers, and director was in panic. Misaki, their manager, saw them and went towards them.

"My goodness, everyone was in panic because they didn't know what to do if ever you didn't appear! Did you know that I've been saying my sorry to them for a hundred times already?" Misaki whined in aggravation.

"We're sorry, Misaki. Blame the _always_ late girl here." Sumire pointed her thumb at her back where Mikan was hiding.

Mikan sneaked her head, "Sorry…"

Misaki glared at her then sighed. "Anyway, there's this really **bad** news for everyone." This caught The Strangers attention. They always know if their manager is serious or not. "Because you were late, everyone thought you wouldn't able to make it and made a decision to ask another group to participate."

"Another group?" Hotaru asked. She had a bad feeling about this.

"They decided to invite and pursue _The Outsiders_ to have the interview." Misaki stated. It was as if she was in slow motion when the girls heard her. Their jaws dropped as they saw The Outsiders at one corner having their make-ups done.

"Please fix the make-up for The Strangers! Ten minutes to start!" One of the staffs said as a group of make-up artists came rushing towards Mikan and the others.

"So what do we have here?" Tsubasa grinned widely and hanged his arm on Misaki's shoulder. "Your group was late? Tch, what a shame for our agency."

Misaki glared at his arm and twisted it to his back. "Shut the hell up, Tsubasa."

"Ah, ah! Okay! Stop it! It hurts!" Tsubasa shouted as Misaki smirked and let his arm go. "Anyway, is it true that Mikan Sakura and our Ruka have a relationship?" Tsubasa asked comically.

Misaki snapped her head at him in disbelief. "What?"

Tsubasa looked back at her with his eyes wide. He bit his lip. "You didn't know?"

"Excuse me?" The two managers who were still in shocked looked at the man who called. "The interview will be starting now and both of you will also participate."

"S-Sure!" Misaki let out a forced smile.

"Yeah. Sure." Tsubasa nodded as both of them walked out of the stage. They saw The Strangers and The Outsiders already on their seats.

"The Strangers and The Outsiders! Please go to your own sets! The start of the program will be The Outsiders playing one of their songs followed by the song of The Strangers!" The director shouted using his microphone.

Both of the groups went to their positions. Mikan looked at the preparing The Outsiders and pouted thinking how did they attain to be the most popular band group in Asia when their leader does not have what it takes to be the greatest. She has the chance to watch their live performance now. This show has to be as good as to make her believe the spot that this group has.

"Hotaru, can you sing for our performance?" Mikan asked.

Hotaru raised her eyebrow and shook her head. "No."

"B-But—!"

"No, Mikan. And that is final."

"Hotar—" Hotaru glared at Mikan and mouthed 'No.' Mikan sighed.

"STANBY! At a count of three! One, two, three! ACTION!"

Mikan was shocked by the sudden change of Natsume's gaze. He looked at the audience as if he was piercing their hearts with too much emotion as he held his microphone by his left hand. He dropped his head then looked up and started singing.

×Ø×

**Tsutae ni kita yo, kizuato tadotte  
**_It told me to follow these scars_

**Sekai ni oshitsubusarete shimau mae ni  
**_Before I'd be crushed by the weight of the world_

**Oboeteru kana namida no sora wo  
**_That pain has given you protection_

**Ano itami ga kimi no koto wo mamotte kureta  
**_Can you remember it? The sky of tears_

**Sono itami ga itsumo kimi wo mamotterunda  
**_Because this pain will always protect you_

×Ø×

Mikan got tapped by Hotaru to wake her up from her shock with what Natsume did in his performance. It was beyond her expectation and imagination. Sumire giggled at Mikan's reaction as she followed it up with three strikes of her drumsticks. Mikan shook her head and grabbed the microphone.

×Ø×

**Tabun suki ni natteta hajimete atta hi kara**  
_I probably fell in love with you ever since the day we met._

**Anata to te wo tsunaida sonna yume wo miteta no**  
_I always dream of holding hands with you!_

**LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA**  
_LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA_

**Amai kaze no nioi ni nagameta shiawase sora**  
_In the sweet fragrance of the wind, we gazed at a Joyous Sky!_

**Hoshi ni inoru omoi wo kanaderuwa anata he to**  
_My emotions I prayed into the Stars will play to you!_

**LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA**  
_LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA_

_×Ø×_

"Okay! So that was The Outsiders and The Strangers!" The host said. He smiled charmingly and made the audience cheer out more.

"Wow, Daisuke, you never failed the audience with your killer smile!" A girl in her cute pink dress came out of the backstage.

Daisuke shrugged. "You never know, Fipi. They might have got this much energy because of the hottest guys in Japan! The Outsiders!" Natsume and the others nodded to the audience.

"And the cutest adorable, The Strangers. Anyway, I'm Fipi at you service!" Fipi pointed her hand to The Strangers as the girls bowed their heads to the audience.

"And I'm Daisuke your one and only." Daisuke went at the center with Fipi and looked at the camera.

"This is…" Fipi stated.

"Hello World!" Daisuke and Fipi said in unison as the audience clapped their hands. The two bands went to the sofa and took their seats. The hosts went to their designated seats too.

"So we're going to talk about a lot of things. It includes personal things about the two bands that are very popular in Music Industry nowadays." Fipi said as Daisuke nodded his head in agreement.

"You got that right, partner. To start, we would like The Outsiders and The Strangers to introduce their selves." Daisuke said.

×Ø×

"Honey, I've got to go to my work!" Yuka shouted as she hurriedly put her things in her bag. She abruptly hooked her bag up and went out of her room.

Izumi walked towards her with arms open wide. "Okay, be careful. Meet Mikan and go home together."

Yuka went to his arms and said, "Well, we've got to eat dinner together because you'll have your shooting at USA. Alright, I'm going to see Mikan."

Izumi broke their hug and kissed Yuka on the forehead. "See you. Oh, and say my greetings to Kaoru."

Yuka nodded and walked away from Izumi. She opened the entrance door and went in her car. Once she got in, she started the engine as she pulled out her phone from her bag and punched some numbers.

"_Hello?"_

"Kaoru, I'm so sorry for being late. I nearly forgot that we have our photo shoot. I'm on my way there." Yuka puckered her brow at her own silliness and started to drive her car.

"_Ugh, Yuka, I've known you for years and if you didn't do anything to be late then it is not you anymore!"_ Kaoru giggled on the other line.

Yuka pouted. "So meanie!"

"_Anyway, I have to go. I'm fixing the dresses that you'll be using. Also, I know that you just went in your car when you told me that you are on your way, so please hurry up and come here."_ Kaoru said and made Yuka laugh. Kaoru was the first one to drop the call before Yuka did.

×Ø×

After some time, the interview with the two bands was nearly at its end. A lot of question was given to them by the two hosts. Natsume was getting very bored of the questions that were asked to him and only Mikan's answers and childishness was giving him enough energy to find this whole program intriguing.

"Well, Mikan-san, for the last question since the program is nearly at its end, is there a chance for you to work with Natsume-kun? And would you like that?" Fipi asked Mikan as she looked at Natsume who was staring at her too.

Natsume avoided Mikan's eyes and looked at somewhere else. Mikan frowned at this and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't really like it if I'm going to work with that bastard." Everyone got shocked with what Mikan called Natsume. Even Natsume snapped his look at her. Worst, the fans of The Outsiders went berserk. "But if it will be one of the roads I have to take to make my band as one of the most popular, then I'll give it a try."

"How about you, Natsume-kun?" Daisuke looked at Natsume.

Natsume looked at Mikan from head to toe. She was laughing with Hotaru, but when she felt his stare and looked back at him, she stuck her tongue out. "I'd rather…lose my band's popularity than be partnered with that ugly."

The audience gasped at this and the fans of The Strangers roared. Mikan looked at him in disbelief. "Well, same here y-you despicable guy!"

"Even if it will be as an exchange for your bands success?" Natsume smirked.

Mikan gritted her teeth and closed her fist tightly. "Hotaru, please stop me from destroying his face."

"I won't." Hotaru looked sideways and grinned. Mikan raised her brows and folded her arms. "What?" Hotaru asked.

Mikan shook her head and hit her forehead.

"A-Anyway, let's have another performance with the two bands to end our program!" Fipi announced nervously. Mikan stood up angrily and stomped her feet towards their stage. Natsume put her hands behind his head and calmly walked to their place, making Mikan more pissed off.

_Calm down, Mikan. Sing cheerfully and act so cute. You. Can. Do. It._ Mikan said to herself. Anna plucked her strings to start the intro of their song as Mikan and Hotaru went near to their microphones, getting ready to sing.

×Ø×

**Anata ga inai to iya iya tte ieru wagamama  
**_If you're not here I say no way, I'm selfish like that_

**(Zutto kienai you ni kesanai you ni)  
**_(Always hoping you won't leave, hoping I won't make you leave)_

**Aijou? yuujou? shiritai koto wa nandemo Love and friendship**,

_I wanna know about everything_

**(Aimai sugite wakaranai yo)  
**_(Its way too unclear, I don't understand it)_

**Itsuka kokoro no oku no doa o tataku  
**_One day there'll be a knock on the door to the hole in my heart_

**Anata o matteiru  
**_I'm waiting for you._

×Ø×

Natsume sneered as he successfully made Mikan angry, but he didn't expect Mikan to still sing nicely after being so pissed off. Now he was sure that Mikan's band got the potential to beat them. Now he knew why the Jin-Jin was so afraid of them. But no matter how good they are, they can never beat Natsume's ego and trust that they will have the longest period of being the most popular band.

Natsume looked at Ruka and nodded as he grabbed his microphone, gazed at the audience with his grin, and began to sing.

×Ø×

**Manten no hoshizora no shita de**  
_Under the whole starry sky,_

**Katariatta koto wo omoidasu yo  
**_I remembered how we used to talk together _

**Chiisai kedo yume ga aru tte**  
_about how our dreams were small but still existed _

**Shizuka na sora ni chikai wo tateru you ni  
**_Like standing up an oath to the quiet sky,_

**Kimi wa boku ni uchiakete kureta  
**_You were honest to me_

**Sono yume ga sono yume ga itsuka**  
_When that dream, that dream comes true someday_

**Kanau toki ni wa kimi no tonari ni**  
_I'll be at your side, _

**Boku ga ite sou boku ga ite**  
_Yes, I'll be at your side_

**Sotto hohoemi aetara ii na**  
_Wouldn't it be great to softly smile together?_

×Ø×

After the whole program, all of them went out of the stage, but they got caught by their fans asking for autographs. So they all got stuck in crowd. Mikan was too caught with signing autographs and didn't realize that she got far from Hotaru and the others. Then she bumped on someone's back. She immediately faced that back and bowed.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" When she looked up, she saw Natsume looking blankly at her. The mass went farther to them.

Natsume glared at her and went near Mikan's face as she walked back, but Natsume grabbed her wrist and grinned. "You…are cute."

×Ø×

"Yuka! You're here." Kaoru greeted Yuka and kissed on her cheek.

"So are we going to start now?" Yuka asked.

Kaoru sighed and shook her head. "My camera's lens got broken when I accidentally dropped it."

"Really? That sucks. Hmm, then I'll just go fetch my daughter. If I'm not mistaken she's just at the other studio next to this." Yuka said as Kaoru nodded in approval. Yuka started to walk away with Kaoru fixing her things.

Kaoru stopped for awhile and think then snapped her head to Yuka. "Yuka!"

×Ø×

"W-What are you doing, Natsume…kun?" Mikan widened her eyes when Natsume grabbed her other wrist.

"What? You scared?" Natsume asked and pulled her towards him. Everyone watched the intense scene. Hotaru, Ruka, and the others stopped signing autographs and observed what their lead singers were doing.

"I'm kinda nervous about what he's doing." Koko gulped.

Sumire smacked Koko's head. "Oh shut it!" She then closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was happening.

Little did they know that Natsume just wanted to tease and see Mikan's reaction to his so-called _'charm'_?

Then all of a sudden, somebody caught people's attention but not the two bands. It was none other than Yuka and Kaoru walking along the hallways into the backstage of the studio. They were naturally speaking with each other but the people see it as if they were sparkling.

"Oh! Mikan!" Yuka called.

Mikan looked at the person who called her, still eyes wide open. "M-Mom?"

_Mom?_ Natsume question in his thoughts and looked at where Mikan was. He instantly let go of Mikan and Mikan noticed it. "Kaoru?" Natsume whispered.

"I heard that, you snot." Kaoru glowered at Natsume.

"Whatever." Natsume retorted.

"Mom! Oh gosh, why did you come here?" Mikan said in glee and hugged Yuka. Kaoru and Natsume watched them.

"It would be better if you act like her." Kaoru smiled warmly at the site.

Natsume raised his eyebrow. "I'm not gay, Kaoru."

Kaoru hit Natsume's head and shouted, "Call me mom, you dimwit!"

Yuka had to drag Mikan towards Natsume and Kaoru for Mikan didn't want to ever go near Natsume again. Yuka tapped Kaoru's shoulder and smiled.

"Your son?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah. He's Natsume." Kaoru pointed her index finger on Natsume while Natsume bowed his head to give respect.

"Oh my, he is so handsome. Well, this one here is my daughter, Mikan." Yuka said. Mikan sneaked her head from Yuka's back and waved her hand.

"Wait, you know each other?" Natsume looked at his mother.

"Isn't obvious, you silly? Yuka is _my_ best friend!" Kaoru jumped at Yuka and stuck her tongue out.

"_**WHAT?**_" Mikan and Natsume asked in chorus.

T.B.C

**Author's Message:**I'm sorry if I didn't specifically made the interview longer and interesting. If I'll do that, this chapter would be really long and tiring to read. I also wouldn't be able to write my favorite part where Yuka and Kaoru went to their child's work. :D

**Credits:**

Sign by _Flow_

Koi no Uta by _Tomatsu Haruka _

Shoujo S by _Scandal_

Plumeria Hana Uta by _Aqua Timez_

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	8. Catastrophes

**Disclaimer:** I will never own Gakuen Alice. All hail Higuchi Tachibana! XD

**Author's Message** (_02/13/11):_ This is the proofread edition. Sorry for grammar mistakes from the past version! Enjoy!

×Ø×

**S T A G E – E I G H T**

_Catastrophes_

minahoru

×Ø×

"What's so appalling about that?" Kaoru raised her eyebrow to Mikan and Natsume who almost had their jaws reaching to the floor.

"These two..." Yuka shook her head. "Anyway, let's have dinner together. I'd like to know more about the whole family of yours, Kaoru."

"Oh sure, I'll contact my daughter. So where do you want to eat?" Kaoru said and hooked up her phone in her pouch.

"Hm, let's try Dome. It's the newly constructed restaurant and it's already near this studio." Yuka replied.

Natsume and Mikan were staring at their mothers as they blabbed. Mikan's head wasn't functioning that well and all of the things were happening too fast. Natsume was the same. He tried hard to cope up.

"Mikan, call your brother and tell him to go to Dome." Yuka said to Mikan. Mikan was staring nowhere so Yuka shook her. "Are you listening to me, Mikan?"

"Huh?" Mikan looked at her mother. Her eyes were lifeless. "Yeah. I heard what you said. Call dad."

"No. I said call your brother. But yeah, call your father too." Yuka combed Mikan's hair between her fingers. Mikan smiled and just nodded.

"Natsume, tell your sister to come too." Kaoru looked at Natsume.

"Yeah." Natsume replied.

Mikan and Natsume texted their siblings to come to the Dome restaurant. They were dragged by their mothers to go outside. The attention was still on them. Ruka's eyes widened when he saw Mikan and Natsume going out of the studio so he ran towards Mikan and grabbed her wrist.

Mikan turned her head to him. "What is it Ruka?"

Natsume stopped walking and let their mothers proceed. "Is there a problem?" He asked.

"Mikan, did you forget? We have a date, remember?" Ruka looked Mikan in the eyes.

Mikan blinked her eyes in disbelief. "What did you say? What date are you talking about?"

Ruka sighed as he grasped Mikan by neck and whispered to her ear. "We'll talk about when I saw you at Gakuen Alice."

"Ah! Right! I forgot. Natsume, tell Mom that I won't be able to join you for dinner. I'm sorry." Mikan laughed nervously and scratched her head.

"The date is more important than the dinner with your family. Sure, I'll tell your mom." Natsume smirked.

"What the hell are you implying, Natsume Hyuuga?" Mikan glared at him. Ruka rubbed Mikan's back and tried to calm her. Ruka knew Natsume, and he was sure Natsume was trying to piss Mikan off.

"Natsume**,** stop it." Ruka looked at Natsume and sighed.

"Ruka, you want me to believe that she's your girlfriend, right?" Natsume crossed his arms and grinned. "Why don't you kiss her in front of me?"

Mikan snapped her head to Ruka. "What's he talking about? What gir—?"

Ruka kissed Mikan nearly on her lips. Natsume's eyes widened as it looked like Ruka had actually kissed her on the lips. Natsume curved his lips into asmirk and nodded his head.

"Fine. You win, Ruka." Natsume stated. He tapped Ruka's shoulder and simpered.

"Natsume, Mikan! Let's go now, what are you waiting for?" Yuka shouted. Natsume, Mikan, and Ruka glanced to where Yuka stood.

"I'll go now. Don't worry, _Mikan Sakura_. I will help you cover foryour date with my best friend." He ran out of the studio before Mikan could even mutter a word. Mikan pulled her hair out of aggravation and glowered at Ruka.

"Now, let's talk in a place where no one will recognize us." Mikan said. She scrutinized Ruka from head to toe. "Change your clothes into something normal. I feel like I'm beside a Christmas tree with all those accessories."

Ruka looked at himself and mumbled, "O-Okay…"

×Ø×

Mikan and Ruka were sittinginside a fast food restaurant. They both looked serious. Mikan was munching her food angrily, intentionally keeping her glare on Ruka. He sweat dropped. His money was all spent buying Mikan's food. He didn't even order so that he could pay for Mikan's meal. How unlucky he was because he thought he might regret bringing a lot of money. Now he regretted that he brought a small amount of money.

"What girlfriend? And Ruka, you will pay for what you did to me before." Mikan blushed due to her anger at Ruka.

Ruka looked at Mikan with so much disappointment. "It was your fault inthe first place. When you called, you told them you were my girlfriend. I thought it was your plan so I decided to ride on and confirm that I am your boyfriend. As to what happened before, tell me, did you have anyother idea other than kissing you to prove that we are lovers? None right? So don't blame it all on me because you are also at fault."

Mikan pouted and looked sideways. Guilt overpowered her madness. "Alright, at that time, I thought they didn't hear what I said and I was talking nonsense. It is my disease whenever I'm in panic. I blab things that are very dangerous. I forgive you since you didn't kiss me on my lips, but just this once. If you do that again without my consent I'll bring you hell."

Ruka wagged his hands as he nodded and said, "Yeah, yeah. I know my limitations. So let's change the topic. Why were you in Gakuen Alice that time?"

×Ø×

_From: Witch Sis._

_C0m3__to__the d0m3 r3ztaurAnt.__  
__Mom is der w!th a fr!3nd.__  
__She wants her friend to meet you._

Youichi rolled his eyes at the text from Mikan for two reasons. One, Mikan still hadn't fixed her weird way of texting, and two, he always expected this to happen: Yuka would call them and introduce them to her friends at the last minute. He was having a photo shoot now for a cover of a magazine, but he couldn't ignore his mother's favor, because he'd be given death if he did.

"Hey," Youichi called one of the staff members, "can you tell everyone that I'm leaving?"

"Eh? B-but the photo shoot," The staff looked at the prepared backdrops and props, then looked back at Youichi, "is starting…Ah, he's gone."

Youichi smirked. He hid himself behind the wall. When the staff scratched his head and walked towards the photographer, Youichi grabbed that opportunity to run out of the studio.

"Sorry, but I have to go." He mumbled and hopped on the cab.

×Ø×

Mikan put her hands under her chin and stared at the ground. She gulped and wondered how to explain to Ruka why they were in Gakuen Alice. She had to be careful of what she would say as it would be dangerous for their band career. What more, Ruka was one of the members of the band that they needed to beat.

Mikan inhaled and cleared her throat. "The reason is simple, Ruka. But it is important for us so I hope you will keep this as your death secret. I want you to keep this information until you die." She sincerely said. Ruka bit his lips as he tried to stop laughing at the serious Mikan. Mikan narrowed her eyes and hit his shoulder hard. "I am not joking here. You better be serious 'cause this is my band's career we're talking about."

"Alright, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not used to you getting so serious. Please continue." Ruka smiled foolishly.

"This is the first time we've talked to each other, so how in hell will you not beused of me getting serious?" Mikan rolled her eyes. "Anyway, as I was saying, the reason is simple. We just want a normal student life. If the students know that we are the famous band, The Strangers, they will treat us differently. Especially the clique group at school, they might even serve as our bodyguard. It's better now that we're known as the Weird Girls rather than The Strangers. Do you get my point?"

Ruka tilted his head and curled his brows in doubt. "Wait. Did you just say Weird Girls?"

"Huh? Y-Yes, I did. Why?" Mikan stopped breathing as her heart beat turned fast.

"You mean you are the Weird Girls?" Ruka bellowed in surprise.

Mikan shook her head in confusion. She closed her eyes as she rubbed her forehead. "Ruka, didn't you know that we were the Weird Girls at school? Isn't that why we're talking right now? Because you saw us?"

Ruka lift his eyebrow. "No…? I just heard you changing clothes. When you got out, poof! I saw you, Mikan Sakura, the vocalist of The Strangers. I didn't see you as Weird Girls!"

"B-But—"

"I was asking why The Strangers was there. It just proves that the rumors were right. That your band is studying at Gakuen Alice. That's all, Mikan. I want to hear directly from you that you are really studying at that school."

Mikan's jaw dropped as she didn't know how to react anymore. "Did I just…expose us?"

×Ø×

Youichi looked up as he saw the big poster that read Dome. He gazed at the people coming in the restaurant. Why was it that he didn't feel right about going to this meeting with his mother? There was definitely something wrong about this idea.

He shrugged and just went in the restaurant. He searched for the sight of Yuka. He walked towards the table, but all of a sudden he stopped. His eyes widened at the figure directly in front of Yuka's seat. He turned his back, blocked his face with his hand and briskly walked far from Yuka. He sat at a vacant table and watched Yuka chat with the figure.

"Shit." Youichi muttered. "What the hell is Natsume nii-chan's doing here?" He stood up, ready to hide inside the comfort room. As he walked, someone went out of the comfort room. He, again, spun his body back to where he sat. But someone already took the place. He stopped and hit his head repeatedly.

"Ow!" Someone screeched. Youichi looked to his left. That someone bumped his back.

He gritted his teeth. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" He whispered to himself.

The one who bumped into him turned him around so that Youichi was face-to-face with_her_. "Youichi?"

"Hey," Youichi waved his hand and faked a smile. "Aoi, what are you doing here?"

×Ø×

Mikan held Ruka's hand, "Ruka, I am begging you to please keep this a secret."

"Err…I will. But you have to be my girlfriend." Ruka scratched his head.

Mikan frowned and promptly let go of Ruka's hand. "No way in hell. Why do you want that? We can clear up the misunderstanding to your friends."

"If we do that, Natsume will ask for more. Like, why did you call? Natsume knows almost everything about me. He will doubt our actions. If you say the reason you called was because you are my friend, they will not believe us."

"Why is that?"

"They didn't even see us talking to each other until now."

"That's the same as how we became lovers."

"We can tell them that we are secretly meeting. Not like if we tell them that we're friends. If we really _were_just friends, we wouldn'thave to keep our meetings secret, right?"

Mikan kept silent. She looked intently at Ruka's eyes and thought about the pros and cons of being his girlfriend. Is this really going to be fine with their profession? What about the aims of Métier Company? This was so not according to their plans.

Mikan was startled and woke up from her thoughts by her phone ringing. She looked at it as it read that Youichi texted her. She opened the message and read it.

_From: You-chan_

_I'm dead. Why didn't you tell me that Natsume nii-chan is the son of Mom's friend?_

_Ugh. Aoi is also here, damn shit. Are you really telling me to die now?_

_What will happen to Naru-Naru's plans? Let's not even talk about that._

_What will happen to me? My career?_

_Also, what's the next step for your band?_

_Without me being a spy of The Outsiders' itinerary, The Strangers are nothing._

Mikan looked at Ruka, stunned. Her hands were shaking as her phone slipped and crashed to the floor. "H-Hotaru…what will happen now?"

Ruka blinked and went beside her. He held Mikan's hands. "Mikan, what's happening with you? Fine, I'll give you some time to think about whether you want to be my girlfriend. You don't have to be that shocked."

Mikan's eyes went big. _Girlfriend? _She thought as her lips turned into asmile. If she's going to be Ruka's girlfriend, she can go in The Outsiders' workplace without anyone blocking her way. Not even Natsume Hyuuga. And that way, she wouldn't need Youichi to be a spy!

She grinned and placed her hands on Ruka's shoulder. "Honey, please take care of me." She cutely blinked her eyes and hugged him.

Ruka choked and unclasped their hug. "What are you saying, Mikan?"

"I'm your girlfriend, right? And as my boyfriend, I want you to bring me to the Dome restaurant right now."

×Ø×

Aoi beamed at Youichi and turned him around as she pushed her towards their table. Youichi made his body lifeless so that Aoi would get a hard time pushing him. But much to his chagrin, Aoi was strong. Yuka clapped her hands when she saw Aoi waving her hands at them. She offered her son to sit beside her. Natsume's eyes went big as he saw Youichi but he maintained his posture.

"He is my co-worker, Aunty. His name is Youichi." Aoi said and sat beside Natsume and Kaoru.

Yuka raised an eyebrow at her and laughed. "Are you saying I don't know my own son's name? You really know how to be funny, Aoi."

"S-Son?" Aoi snapped her head to Youichi. "He is your son?"

Youichi closed his eyes and banged his head onthe table. Yuka frowned at him and slapped Youichi's head. "What in hell are you doing, Youichi? Do not act like a retard. Anyway, yes Aoi. He is my son. I thought you knew? If you are close to him, you'd know. His surname is Sakura, duh?"

"Mom, stop acting as if you were a teenager. Talk in a normal way," Youichi rolled his eyes. He looked at Natsume then to Aoi who were both dumbstruck.

"So," Natsume smirked and crossed his arms, "you are Mikan Sakura's brother."

Youichi glared at him. He ignored Natsume and took out his phone from his pocket. He texted Mikan with his other hand clenched beside him. He let Yuka talk to Kaoru and Aoi and avoided Natsume's stare.

×Ø×

Mikan got off Ruka's car and hurriedly walked into the restaurant. She saw Natsume and Youichi looking in each other's eyes as if they were talking with theirminds. Then she looked beside Youichi. Her mother was laughing with Kaoru and Aoi. She slowly walked towards their table as Yuka noticed her presence.

Yuka smiled. "I thought you were on a date? Natsume told me about it. You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend, Mikan."

Mikan instantly looked at Natsume who whistled as if he were innocent. "I-I canceled it." She looked at Youichi with her eyes asking if he was alright.

Youichi shook his head and mumbled, "Natsume's killing me with his gaze!"

"So you and Mikan are siblings?" Natsume looked at Mikan and Youichi.

Yuka nodded her head. "Oh yes they are!"

"Mom!" Youichi and Mikan chorused.

"Youichi**,**" Natsume called. Youichi looked back at him. "Looks like I don't have to investigate about you anymore, right?"

_Flashback__:_

_"It is for me to know and for you to find out, senpai."_

_Natsume cringed at his kouhai's smirk and at the way Youichi pronounced the last word – full of presage. "Then it is alright if we will investigate about this." He didn't say it as a question, but as a warning._

_"Sure," Youichi smugly accepted._

_End of flashback____._

"Whatever," Youichi sighed in defeat.

Mikan fiercely looked at Natsume. She grabbed him by his hand and walked out of the restaurant. Yuka, Kaoru, Aoi, and Youichi were shocked by the sudden actions of Mikan.

Yuka sweat dropped. "I'm sorry, Kaoru. My children are very…" She glared at Youichi and continued, "Very weird."

×Ø×

Mikan and Natsume stood outside the restaurant. Mikan didn't let go of Natsume's hand so that he wouldn't run away from her. She also didn't let go of her glare on him. Natsume stared his dead**,** bored eyes at her and tried pulling his hand off of Mikan's grip, but Mikan held him by two hands.

"What do you want?" Natsume asked.

"Why did you tell Mom that I was on a date?" Mikan tightened her grip on Natsume's hand.

Natsume cringed. He pushed Mikan on the wall as Mikan loosened her grip. Natsume went near her face and caged her. "And what about you? You and Youichi were surely planning something."

"Natsume? Mikan?" Mikan and Natsume looked at the one who called.

"Ruka? Why are you still here?" Mikan pushed Natsume hard, but Natsume held her hands and pressed her against the wall.

"Don't you dare use the opportunity to ignore my question? I could file fraud to your brother, Mikan Sakura." Natsume harshly stated.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Hyuuga!" Mikan gave all her force and shoved Natsume, however Natsume's grip was tight on her hands causing them to fall back.

Not only fall back. Their lips even crashed against each other.

_Click_.

Mikan, Ruka, and Natsume's eyes went big. Mikan immediately stood up and became aware of someone beside her. Mikan froze up. The man removed the camera from his eyes and grinned at Mikan. Natsume was still on the floor so he captured the man's leg.

"R-Ruka, catch him!" Natsume stuttered as he had not yet recovered from what happened. And if he hadn't recovered, what more Ruka? Ruka just stood there staring blankly in the air. "Shit, Ruka!"

"This is big cash." The man kicked Natsume's stomach and caused Natsume to let him go. He instantly ran fast.

Mikan ran to get the camera, but a car was madly hitting its horn. The car moved fast; nevertheless Mikan didn't stop running. Ruka was about to go to Mikan but Natsume, without delay, stood up and grasped Mikan's arm and made her move to his chest.

They saw the camera man running far from them. Natsume faced Mikan to him and shook her. "Are you out of your mind? You could have died back there!"

Mikan's tears fell as she pulled her hair in aggravation. "I'm sorry! I just don't know anymore! I hate this day!" Her knees fell to the ground as she buried her face in her hands. "Waah, I hate this day!"

Natsume's face turned gentle as he brought his knees down and embraced Mikan. "Are you alright?"

Mikan continued to bawl and nodded her head. "What will happen to that picture?"

Natsume broke the embrace and faced Ruka. "I'm sorry, Ruka. Now I'm sure that the public will assume that I have a relationship with her. It should be you."

Ruka shook his head and stroked Mikan's hair. "The important thing is Mikan's safe."

T.B.C

**Author's Message:** By the way, if you like this story till now, you would also love my other story entitled 100 Days Living With You. Would you mind reading it? Thank you for those who supported me in this story. I hope you won't get tired of reading this until the end.


	9. Rumble

**Disclaimer: **Gakuen Alice, oh why can't you be mine?

**Author's Message: **Another update! Please have fun reading! Feel free to **say** anything in your reviews~ The grammar will be checked later by my proofreader. Please bear with it for awhile.

×Ø×

**S T A G E – N I N E**

_Rumble_

minahoru

×Ø×

"S-So that's what happened…" Misaki muttered.

After the incident two hours ago, Mikan, Natsume, and Ruka immediately called everyone to tell them what happened because it would certainly turn into big talk by tomorrow. Of course, Mikan and Natsume told their parents that they had business to take care of and bid their goodbyes.

Mikan nodded and bowed her head for the nth time. "I'm really sorry. I should have stopped things from happening!"

"W-Well, you really can't do that." Anna sweatdropped.

"Yeah, after all it was Hyuuga's fault." Hotaru smirked.

Natsume snapped and glared at Hotaru. "What did you say? You didn't see what happened so don't just blame me."

"Mou, let's stop blaming people here. The important thing now is to solve this problem. This is now everyone's trouble!" Nonoko folded her arms and pouted.

"Has anyone thought of a plan?" Tsubasa asked and looked at everyone. He heaved a sigh when no one even reacted.

"It's not that easy, Tsubasa. Although I thought of a plan," Mochu bit his lip, "I don't think it'll be fine with Ruka."

"E-Eh? Me? What does this thing got to do with me?" Ruka blinked his eyes. He pointed his index finger to himself as an act of stupidity.

"For a boyfriend, you sure act composed, Ruka." Natsume commented. He looked at Ruka in a scrutinizing way.

Ruka turned pale at this and stared at the floor.

The silence turned the whole place awkward. Mikan blinked a lot as her jaw dropped down the floor. Anna, Nonoko, Sumire, and Hotaru slowly turned their heads to Mikan. Misaki, on the other hand, stood up and made the table shake.

"_B-Boyfriend?_" All of them shouted in unison.

Misaki stretched her arms and pulled Mikan's hair as all of The Strangers hit her hard. Well, except for Hotaru. She sat with her legs and arms crossed and waited for the beating to end. After some time, they all got tired and returned to their seats. Mikan became unnoticeable for her messy hair and crumpled dress.

Mikan sobbed. "I-I didn't mean to keep it a secret. B-Besides, Ruka's the one at fault…" She glanced at Ruka and sniffed.

Everyone snapped their attention to Ruka as he choked himself on his saliva. "M-Mikan!"_Why in hell are you passing the problem to me? _He thought.

Sumire heaved a big sigh and brushed her hair with her fingers. "When did you two start going out?"

"Two months."

"One month."

Sumire raised her eyebrow. "Seriously? Whom am I going to believe? So you're saying Mikan that you both went out for two months already while Ruka says one month? What? What?"

Mikan and Ruka looked at each other, nodded, then looked back at their friends.

"One month."

"Two months."

They looked at each other and widened their eyes asking the same thing. _What?_

"You two…" Sumire gritted her teeth.

"I understand you Mikan." Hotaru stated. Everyone turned to the ice princess. "I understand now that you really are stupid from the rest of the stupid."

"Hotaru~" Mikan said, teary eyed.

"You two are not seriously going out, right? Do you actually plan for the media to find out about your relationship and use it to make yourselves popular?" Natsume glared at Mikan. "I'm sure you planned this all, little girl."

"What did you say, you jerk?" Mikan curled her fist into a ball and banged the table. "Can you hear yourself as you talk? Huh?"

"Shut up." Natsume said. "If what I'm saying is not the truth, then what the hell is your relationship with my best friend?" He shouted angrily.

"Ruka, tell him! Why are you keeping your mouth shut when I'm already being accused so badly here?" Mikan screeched in anguish and burst into tears. She felt hurt. Never in her life had a person pointed a finger at her so badly. Worst, she was being accused of using a ridiculous idea to achieve her dreams.

"Everyone, please. Listen to me now." Ruka closed his eyes. He went towards Mikan and pulled her up from her seat. He hugged her and whispered sorry to her. He faced them. "Mikan and I have been going out for a month. I courted her a month before she answered me so it confused us. "

Mikan looked at him in disbelief. "Ruka—"

"We didn't tell everyone because we knew that it would turn into something like this. Our bands are absurdly rivals, and we thought you would all just be a hindrance to our relationship." Ruka made Mikan take her seat while he returned to his own.

All of them went silent. Everyone felt guilty that they got crazy about the relationship of their friends. Natsume gazed at his best friend. He was still in doubt about Ruka's words, but for now he would believe him. He never saw Ruka take things seriously before. Ruka didn't even smile once. Just that made him realize that Ruka was trying hard to convince him.

"Ruka, if you don't mind, in the eyes of public I will be Mikan's boyfriend. In our eyes, Mikan is your girlfriend. Don't worry because I will find the perfect time to end this fake relationship with Mikan in front of the media." Natsume said.

With that, the conversation ended and everyone went to their houses.

×Ø×

"It's already good that, that happened Nee-san." Youichi said as he munched a part of an apple.

"How can you say that, You-chan? I'm stuck in two _fake _relationships for Pete's sake!" Mikan screamed and sulked.

When Mikan got home from the meeting, she immediately ran to Youichi and cried her eyes out like a child. She ended up telling Youichi about what happened from the beginning to end. You ask why? In this way, at least someone, even one, knew the truth. At least someone could listen to Mikan wholeheartedly without her lying.

"Don't you have brains? I thought you knew the benefits because you agreed to be their girlfriend." Youichi coughed out a laugh and rolled his eyes as he put his arm around his sister's shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Mikan asked.

"Ruka-nii is your boyfriend and only the band members know that. So if you'll walk inside the Notes Company, the band will not mind you. Natsume-nii is also your boyfriend and the whole public knows that. So if you'll walk inside the Notes Company, not even Jin-Jin can chase you out because you _are _the girlfriend of his famous singer. No one can ever be an obstacle to you spying on The Outsiders. Do you get me?"

"Well…" Mikan muttered. "Even so, I wonder why Ruka lied when he can already tell the truth."

"Nee, that's what I want to know too." Youichi replied, putting his arms behind his head.

×Ø×

"Oh my freaking gosh."

"Have you heard?"

"You won't believe it!"

"I know! I will never ever believe it!"

"Ahh! This is killing me."

"I'm going crazy!"

In the big city of Tokyo, an enormous LED Billboard flashed the latest hot news for the people to know. The new headline for the day was always the first one to show on the said billboard. Today, people gathered at the center of the city with shock. All were looking at the billboard in disbelief.

_**NEWS FLASH**_

**MIKAN SAKURA & NATSUME HYUUGA ARE GOING OUT?**

**WATCH THE INTERVIEW****OF****THEM TOMORROW AT SHOWBIZ BLAB!**

×Ø×

"Ahh, really. It's super loud." Sumire irritatingly shouted and covered her ears with her hands.

"Do you actually expect for those fans to keep quiet about the issue? Huh?" Nonoko snorted and rolled her eyes.

They were in the classroom waiting for their homeroom teacher to arrive. All of their classmates were making noises and crying their eyes out as they found out about Mikan and Natsume's relationship last night. All of the political issues in Japan were washed out by Mikan and Natsume.

"Once they find out that I am Mikan, I think I won't be able to see the sunrise again." Mikan stared at the students who were crazily ripping her face off of the magazines and news papers. She turned pale.

"Nodacchi!" One student called.

The Mathematics teacher entered the classroom and smiled. Students cheered in glee. Nodacchi was the most favored teacher in Gakuen Alice with his hateful subject.

"Hi class! Today, someone is going to be your classmate. He is known by everyone so I bet you'll be happy to be his classmate." Nodacchi stated as he looked out of the door and signaled for someone to come in.

All of the girls started squealing at the sight of the new student with his back being supported by the wall. Natsume was the first one to enter the classroom and stood in front beside Nodacchi. He blankly stared at the students who were gawking at him. He rolled his eyes. The other members of The Outsiders came in and made the students gaga.

"We know that they transferred here a long time ago, but because of their schedule we weren't able to fix what classroom they should go. Please welcome them wholeheartedly." Nodacchi explained. Students clapped their hands in happiness. "Please sit on the vacant seats." He said to the boys.

Ruka sat beside Hotaru while Koko went beside Sumire. Mochu sat beside Anna and Yuu was next to Nonoko. Mikan was at the back of everyone alone but not until Natsume took the seat next to her. He leaned on his desk and rested his chin on his palm. When Mikan looked at him unintentionally, he smirked. Mikan's eyebrow twitched. She curled her hands into balls as she tried her best to stop her annoyance.

The Strangers, except for Hotaru and Mikan, weren't able to stop their perspiration due to nervousness. If this sitting arrangement was going to remain, they wouldn't be able to talk about showbiz ever. They all looked at each other then heaved a sigh as they hoped to climb this new kind of test.

×Ø×

After classes, The Outsiders went to the studio to meet their back-up dancers for their new music video. They would do their first dance version of a music video with first class dancers. Because of this, they were forced to study dancing. Especially Natsume who couldn't even skip to the beat of the song he personally made.

"I am telling you, for the longest time that I've known Natsume I have never seen him dance." Ruka stated comically.

"But I'm sure he can, right?" Koko looked at Natsume who was banging his head as he listened to his iPod.

"He keeps on ignoring us. It looks like he is not interested in this." Mochu said. He sat on the floor then looked up to Yuu.

"Don't look at me like that, Mochu. I know what you're trying to tell me." Yuu said as he rehearsed the steps to their song. Yuu was a great dancer and he wanted to help the people who would teach them to dance.

"I'm just saying, Yuu, that you can persuade Natsume about this. You're good on that!" Mochu put his hand on Yuu's shoulder and gave him an assuring smile. "Right?"

"Do not talk to me for the next one hour or I'll punch you." Yuu moved his shoulder to put Mochu's hand away.

Mochu immediately faked a smile and wagged his hands in front of him. _H-He threatened me._ He thought.

"By the way, do you guys know who these back-up dancers will be?" Ruka asked, "Because I have no idea who they are."

×Ø×

"No way!"

Luna shrieked and folded her arms. She faced her back to her friends as she glared somewhere. Wakako, her best friend, walked towards her and rubbed her arms. She laid her chin on Luna's shoulder and pouted.

"Best, please don't make this hard for everyone. This is big time money! We're only doing this because we are in need, right? Besides, it is you who needs this the most. Just bear with it for a short time." Wakako pleaded.

Luna slapped Wakako's face playfully and sighed. "Why does it have to be The Outsiders?"

"It's actually better than The Strangers." Yura, who was checking her newly manicured nails, coughed out.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Do you want a piece of me, Yura?"

"What? Do you want to?" Yuri shouted and went in front of Yura acting like some kind of gangster.

They were about to start the chaos when Yuna intervened with her hands raised in front of their faces. Wakako stopped Luna as she was ready to scratch Yuri's face off while Yura kept on persuading Yuri to kick Luna's butt.

"P-Please stop fighting!" Yuna shyly shouted with her eyes closed. They all stopped and admired the cute red face of Yuna.

"Ahh, really. You all bunch of idiots. Stop all this nonsense and sign the freaking contract. I need money to buy my new clothes." Shizune said. She put her feet on the table and reached for the white paper on it. She signed the contract swiftly and offered Luna to do the same.

"I won't sign it Shizune. No matter how many times you sign on it, I'll just rip the contract." Luna stubbornly said and shoved Shizune's hand.

"Damn it, Luna. Don't go begging us to lend you money later. You'll definitely regret not signing this. I just want to remind you that we can still friggin' dance without you. Bitch. Tch." Shizune angrily said and let the other girls sign on the contract.

Luna pouted. She thought of her sister lying on the white bed of the hospital moaning her name. Her tears formed on each side of her eyes. "Fine. I'll sign it."

×Ø×

Mikan walked slowly around the streets of Tokyo. She swung her bag back and forth. She smiled happily for the people around her weren't able to recognize her as a singer of The Strangers. She was right about putting a wig on and colored contact lenses.

Today will be her first time coming to their band's mortal enemy, The Outsider's, territory. She didn't feel nervous or excited. She just felt evil overflowing throughout her body as she thought of lots of things to find out The Outsider's whereabouts.

As she was about to walk in the building of Notes, a jam-packed mob of paparazzi and journalists surrounded the entrance and made her stop. She blinked her eyes then grinned. If the people before weren't able to recognize her, that only meant she would not be identified by anyone. And the press was one of those who wouldn't know her.

She, with dignity and calm, walked in the middle of the media with matching skipped steps. It all became quiet as she walked. The whistle of the air was the only one heard. And then out of the blue, one shouted.

"It's her!"

Mikan's eyes widened as she looked from her right to left. She covered her face with the big bag she had and ran towards the entrance, but before she could reach the door the crowd went berserk and approached Mikan with their cameras, videos, recorders, pens and papers, and questions.

"Now that you're here, Miss Mikan, the rumors are true!"

"So you lied when you said that you'll never be Natsume's girl?"

"Are you here to visit Natsume Hyuuga?"

"When did your relationship start?"

"Who was the first one to confess?"

"Are you afraid of Natsume's fan girls?"

"Please answer the questions, Mikan-san!"

Mikan covered her ears since she was getting screamed at by the interviewers. She felt so afraid of the entire ruckus. She regretted not bringing bouncers with her because of a silly thought of changing how she looked like. She thought a lot of possible ways on how the people could torture her about her relationship with Natsume. Not only that. From her perspective, she couldn't understand any questions coming from the press because it was asked at the same time. It was like _ASDFGHJKL!#$!$%^&*(_words to her ears.

The press was about to jump on her to force her to talk when all of a sudden, a black coat flew and wrapped around her body. Mikan felt hands on her shoulders, the same hands that afterwards picked her up. She sighed as if her life was saved and decided to thank the person. So when she looked up to do that, she saw...

"N-Natsume?"

"Please," Natsume said, loud enough for everyone to hear. The media went calm and listened to him as he continued, "stay away from my girlfriend."

T.B.C

**Author's Message: **I'm very sorry for the delayed update. Our midterms just got finished and I'm still trying to get my grades high. And, well, I'm watching bleach again. I stopped watching it before because I got tired of it. So…yes, I got addicted. Haha. But anyway, thank you for waiting! I appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter.


	10. Overwhelming

**Disclaimer:**Gakuen Alice, oh why can't you be mine?

**Author's Message:**Another update! Please have fun reading! Feel free to say anything in your reviews~

×Ø×

**S T A G E – T E N**

_Overwhelming_

minahoru

×Ø×

"B-But—"

Natsume glared at the girl with a recorder in her hands. The girl shrieked and jumped an inch away from Natsume. He continued, "All your inquiries will be entertained later at Showbiz Blab. Just submit your questions to them."

The prepared chucker-outs of Natsume blocked the media from any of their actions towards the couple. Natsume, still holding her shoulders, quickly led Mikan in the building. They successfully got in as the guards closed the glass door behind them.

"You sure know how to cause trouble, huh?" Natsume whispered in her ear.

_**Thump.**_

"N-Na—"

"Mikan!" Ruka, who came running towards her, called, cutting Mikan off.

"Ruka…" Mikan forced out a smile. "I-I came~"

Ruka nodded. Then he tilted his head and leaned over to Mikan, knocking his forehead to hers. "Why are you so red? You don't seem to have a fever."

"Ah hahaha." Mikan backed away from Ruka and scratched her head. "You think so?" She looked at Natsume's hand placed on her shoulder.

Natsume noticed this so he removed his hand. He patted her head and walked away. Ruka continued talking, but Mikan didn't seem to understand him because she was too caught up into watching Natsume walk away. Mikan touched her head and turned redder.

"Mikan, are you listening?" Ruka slanted his head and waved his hand in front of Mikan.

Mikan immediately turned her eyes away and covered her tomato-like cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ruka. I-I'll go to the comfort room first!" She turned and ran.

When she got in the comfort room, she leaned her back against the wall. She looked around to see if anyone was around; luckily no one was inside but her. She put her hands on her chest as she blushed an even deeper red.

_Please, stay away from my girlfriend._

_**Doki. Doki.**_

"W-What the hell was that?" Mikan shouted as she tightened her grip on the fabric covering her chest.

×Ø×

**"****N-Natsume?"  
"Please, stay away from my girlfriend."**

"Wow." Sumire said.

"That's pretty bold of him, don't you think?" Anna giggled.

Nonoko nodded and added, "And he seems to be into this fake relationship, frankly speaking."

Hotaru, who had her legs crossed as she ate her crab, listened to her friends' conversation. She rested her chin on her palm and smirked. '_Heh, looks like this is going to be interesting.'_ She thought as she watched her best friend on the telecast. Mikan blushed madly at the boy who led her way inside the building.

_Bang._

Everyone snapped their heads to their manager. Misaki stood with her bangs hiding her eyes and her head down. They all waited for another action. Misaki slowly held her head high. "T-This," She raised her closed fist as her eyes sparkled, "it is more like a confession that Natsume likes Mikan! Kyaaa!"

Everyone sighed, shook their heads, and thought, _'That's impossible.'_

×Ø×

"Luna, can you please hurry up?" Yura shouted. Her head snapped at her. "We've been here for years already!"

"Shut your mouth!" Luna retorted annoyingly.

Luna heaved a sigh. Their group was in front of the Notes building to meet The Outsiders for the first time. She still couldn't accept the fact that they were going to teach The Outsiders to dance when she was an avid fan of The Strangers. If not for her sister, she wouldn't have accepted the opportunity to meet The Outsiders.

Luna got out of the car and looked at the tall building. "Let's go." She said and led the way inside. Her friends followed her as she went to the reception. "We're here to meet The Outsiders."

"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist asked.

"Yes. We are the back-up dancers that they're waiting for." Wakako answered.

"Please wait for a moment." The receptionist said and grabbed the phone.

"Wakako, I'll just go to the comfort room for a while." Luna said. Wakako nodded her head as Luna walked her way to the comfort room. As she got in, she was startled by the girl who had her back laid against the wall and her eyes closed. Luna raised her eyebrow and thought, _'What a weirdo_.' She went straight to the faucet and washed her hands while looking at the girl through the mirror.

'_Seriously, what is she doing standing like an idiot?'_She shook her head. '_Girls nowadays freaking piss me off.'_

"E-Excuse me…"

"WAH!" Luna shrieked and jumped with her wet hands as she glared at the girl who had her head down. "Y-You startled me…what is it?"

"I was just going to pick some tissues…" The girl said. She looked up and saw Luna and with that she widened her eyes. Luna was also shocked when she saw the girl's features.

"M-Mi-Mi-Mikan Sakura? OMG, it's really, really, really you!" Luna grabbed Mikan's hands and shook it. Her eyes sparkled in amazement.

"Haha, hello…" Mikan faked a smile and sweat dropped as she looked sideways. '_Why is Luna here?'_

"I'm a big fan of yours!" Luna squealed. "Can I have an autograph? Oh—I don't have a paper with me! Geez! A-Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren't you from Métier?"

"Uh…some kind of business?" Mikan scratched the back of her head. '_She didn't watch television?'_"I'm here to meet The Outsiders, actually."

"Ehhh? How nice! You meet with your rivals? Well, I'm also here to meet them so why don't we go together? I want to be your friend! This is my biggest dream ever." Luna raved.

Mikan smiled and nodded. "Sure, why not?" She felt really nice whenever she met someone like Luna. "Oh wait, why are you meeting with The Outsiders?"

Luna pulled Mikan as they walked together out of the comfort room. "Oh that? I'm going to teach them how to dance."

"Dance?" Mikan raised her brow. "Why?"

"Didn't you know? They're going to release a new album which contains songs that are up for dance. It'll be The Outsiders' first time to dance in public. Their manager contacted us and asked us to teach them some steps." Luna explained. "I heard that they'll make a music video for it too."

Mikan frowned at this and bit her lower lip. So this was what The Outsiders had been doing. It was a good thing that she was here. She'd be able to watch The Outsiders. But why was Luna going to teach them? Was she someone professional?

"Luna, the receptionist said that we can go to their dressing room now." Wakako said. She looked at Mikan in surprise. "You are… Mikan Sakura?"

"What?" The others snapped their heads to Mikan.

"H-Hi!" Mikan awkwardly waved her hand. '_Oh my God, the happy go lucky girls are all here!'_

Yura, being a certified fan of The Outsiders and a hater of The Strangers rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a 'hmph' sound. Shizune walked towards Mikan and touched some strands of her hair. Mikan backed away and blinked her eyes.

"Heh, does that mean that the rumors are true?" Shizune smirked.

"What do you mean, Shizune?" Yura asked.

"That Mikan Sakura is Natsume Hyuuga's girlfriend." Shizune said. She put her hands on her hips and scoffed. "I heard it from the radio news when we were in the car. That's why you're here, right Mikan? To watch your beloved boyfriend perform?"

"We haven't heard of that rumor until now." Yura said as the others nodded in agreement. Everyone was shocked, especially Luna. She didn't expect Natsume and Mikan to have a relationship when they were obviously enemies in the music industry.

Mikan blushed at this and looked away. "I—"

"If you don't want to go inside, just say so. Stop making a fuss out of nothing here. You're catching attention." A voice stated, cutting Mikan.

Everyone looked over to the owner of the voice. "N-Natsume!" Mikan ran towards him.

"What?" Natsume asked as he looked at Mikan who stood before him like a dog wagging its tail.

"I-I—This!" Mikan handed Natsume the black coat that covered her from the incident before. "I forgot to return it." She faked a smile and turned pale. '_Err, thank goodness you came!'_ She looked at the group behind her. '_Before Yura and Yuri kill me.'_She thought_._

Natsume, instead of accepting his coat, put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around as he pushed Mikan towards the dressing room. Then he stopped and looked by the side of his shoulder, "You all. You better come in the dressing room or I'll ask the guards to show you the way out. I don't even want you all here in the first place." Luna and the others flinched at this as they all followed the couple enter the room.

Mikan stopped abruptly, as if she had crashed into an invincible wall; she was awed by the appearance of The Outsiders' dressing room. It was nothing ordinary, as expected from an international band. It was spacious enough so that hundreds of people could fill it in. She looked above her and the sparkling chandeliers enticed her hazel eyes. Her mouth hung open when she saw their high-equipped dresser.

Ruka and the others were playing random music and saw everyone enter the dressing room. Ruka smiled and waved at Mikan.

"Hi Mikan!" Ruka greeted. He noticed Mikan's expression so he coughed out a laugh. "This is almost like our house so we asked Tsubasa to do all of this."

"Oh! Our princess is here! Mikan-chaaaan~!" Koko came charging towards Mikan with his arms spread wide.

Natsume hit Koko's head on time before he could cuddle Mikan. "Don't show your perverted side to her, idiot."

"Serves you right! Hahaha! Now, treat me to some delicious restaurant or I'll reveal your dark secret!" Mochu put out his tongue and went behind Koko. The two continued their silly fight as Ruka tried to stop them. Natsume, on the other hand, ignored them, went to their mini-stage, and played the organ.

Yuu sighed. He tapped Mikan's shoulder. "I'm very sorry for that, Mikan-chan. Come, have a seat. You're here for the interview later at showbiz blab, right?" He guided Mikan to their coffee table and offered her some drinks.

Mikan shook her head. "It's nothing. You don't need to apologize." She faked a laugh. Truthfully, she didn't know that The Outsiders were _this_ wild.

"Hey, hey! You guys didn't even notice your teachers?" Tsubasa hissed. He shut the door behind him and shook his head. "Geez, aren't you harsh? You only noticed Mikan?"

Luna and the others appeared behind Tsubasa. Everyone in the room snapped their heads to him. Koko and Mochu stopped their fight but still didn't let go of each other. Mikan and Yuu looked at each other then back at Tsubasa. Natsume stopped playing the organ and Ruka blinked his eyes in confusion.

"Now, allow me to introduce your teachers! Here comes the Back-Street group!" Tsubasa cheered.

"B-Back-street?" Everyone chorused except for Natsume who only widened his eyes.

"Y-You mean, the famous dancers?" Mikan said, stuttering due to overwhelming surprise. She looked sideways and thought, '_Whoa, I didn't know Luna and the others were dancers!'_

Yuu stood up from his seat. "They will be the one to teach us?"

"Wow, I didn't know it was them. I mean, they always wear those masks to hide their features." Koko shook his head in disbelief.

Ruka curled his brows and narrowed his eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I remember you're the clique group in Alice Academy."

Natsume remained silent as he walked beside Ruka. Luna and her group looked at each other then back to Ruka, nodding. Natsume folded his arms with a smug look on his face. "Aren't the students of Alice Academy talented? There might be another celebrity hiding in that school," He looked at Mikan and smirked, "right?"

Mikan looked to the other side with her teeth grinding. Luna noticed the awkwardness between the two so she decided to lighten the mood by faking a laugh. "Well, it's not just The Outsiders' time to shine showing their dance moves. As Nogi-san said, we usually hide behind masks. This time will be different. It'll be our first time to show our faces in public."

"Under the same company, Notes, Back-Street will be used for The Outsiders to gain more popularity as well as debut as renowned dancers." Tsubasa grinned as his brows went up and down.

Mikan snapped her head to Tsubasa as her eyes went bigger. Another group has come to support Notes. Another _extra-ordinary_ group. She heard about Back-Street—no, she's been an avid _fan_ since their first appearance in the industry. They've made lots of noise as the greatest dancers in their era. They first performed in a dancing competition and won first place. Since then, they've been performing to different people as back-up dancers. They never accepted any company for their debut.

'_Then why? Why now? Why with Notes?'_

"Wait. What? Debut? Andou-kun, what are you talking about?" Luna asked. Her face looked extremely confused.

"Eh? You came here to sign the contract, right?" Tsubasa tilted his head innocently.

"There's no such—!" Luna cut her own words as she turned to look at Yura. "Y-You…bitch!"

Yura smirked and shrugged. Yuna, Wakako, and Shizune held Luna's body to stop her from jumping on Yura. "I knew you'd refuse. After all, you've been wanting to debut as a dancer but only with Métier. You've been waiting for them to offer you a contract for half a year already. But face the truth, Luna. Metier's concentration isn't to look for new talents. They want The Strangers to be very famous. _Only_ The Strangers. And _only_ Notes is willing to discover new groups. The only company who uses brains."

_**Snap.**_

Mikan stood up, causing the chair to stumble. Her fists that were tightly closed were shaking in anger. Her bangs hid her eyes. She swiftly snatched Yura's collar and glared at her. "Don't talk as if you understand Notes well." She said through gritted teeth as she let go. This made Yura fall flatly on the floor.

She stomped her feet out the room as she flipped her phone from her pocket and dialed a number. "Hey, cancel the interview from showbiz blab. I'm not in the mood anymore."

Yura, who was left on the floor, blinked her eyes in surprise. Nobody moved an inch and stayed in silence. For that moment, they weren't even sure if that was Mikan Sakura. _The_ Mikan Sakura, also known as the kindest and sweetest girl.

"F-For a second, she reminded me of that bitch _Toya Sakura_." Yura mentioned.

T.B.C

**Author's Message: **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter even if I updated it just now. There are more to come! Stay tune. :)

_©minahoru and Irrevocable Truth._


	11. Complications

**Disclaimer:** Gakuen Alice, oh why can't you be mine?

**Author's Message: **Another update! Please have fun reading! Feel free to tell anything in your reviews~

×Ø×

**S T A G E – E L E V E N**

_Complications_

minahoru

×Ø×

"She what?" Natsume shouted into his phone. He rolled his eyes and moved the phone away from his ear but immediately brought it back. He rubbed his forehead and calmed himself. "What the hell is this all about?"

After some moment, it was time for Natsume and Mikan to leave for an interview. But Natsume still couldn't find Mikan anywhere in the building. He thought that she just needed air for what happened earlier. It wasn't until he called Misaki, Mikan's manager, and asked about her whereabouts did Natsume learn that Mikan couldn't attend the interview anymore.

"_Err…she seemed to be in a really bad mood when she told me to cancel the interview. I don't think I can do something to make her come for the interview anymore. C-Can you do something about it? I mean, give the media an excuse or something?"_

"Why me? You're her manager. Do something about the mess she made. I don't give a bullcrap about her issues," Natsume answered. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

"_Just…come on! Please do something about this, Natsume. She's your girlfriend."_

"Fake girlfriend," Natsume corrected. He looked ahead and saw members of media on their way to bombard him with questions. He heaved a sigh. "Fine, but this isn't for free." He dropped the call as he readied himself to face the disaster ahead of him.

_I'll make sure you'll pay for this, Mikan Sakura._

×Ø×

"Are you sure he's going to make it?" Ruka asked Tsubasa.

"I don't know." Tsubasa shrugged.

"Why don't you help him?" Yuu asked.

"Yeah! You're our manager…" Koko seconded.

"I think Natsume can do it." Mochu giggled. "Not."

Tsubasa shook his head. The five boys continued to watch Natsume secretly from behind the door of the dressing room as the media approached the lad. They knew Natsume well, and for that, they knew how he couldn't handle public speaking; much more, if it's about scandals. He hated it. No, he _abhorred_ it.

On the other hand, happy-go-lucky—or—Back-Street girls stayed silent inside as they watched the boys ogled Natsume. They couldn't believe what happened with Mikan. She was like a totally different person.

Luna glared at Yura. It was her fault at the first place. After what she did, it was normal for a kind-hearted girl, Mikan, to go wacko.

"Hey, Yura," Luna called. Yura looked at her as she continued, "you haven't explained the contract to me. I'm the leader, so I make the final decision."

Yura rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"You should go to Jinno," Tsubasa butted in.

The girls, their attentions caught, looked at him.

"Who's that?" Luna asked.

"Notes' CEO. He's very interested in your group. When I mentioned Back-Street, he was marvelously motivated to help you debut and make you big as a dance company." Tsubasa placed his hands at the back of his head and turned his back at them as he said, "His office is at the penthouse."

×Ø×

"Hyuuga-san, what happened to Sakura-chan?"

"We heard about the cancellation of the interview! Is it true that Misaki, The Strangers' manager, cancelled it?"

"Did you two quarrel?"

"Is it really true that Mikan is your girlfriend or this is a tactic to be popular?"

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Natsume held his hands up and made everyone quiet. "This is just what I'll tell you all. After this, don't ask for more questions. Mikan Sakura is my girlfriend. We are in love with each other. A relationship is not a child's game to be played so we are serious about this." Natsume bit his tongue, utterly disgusted with what he just stated.

"Right now, Mikan isn't feeling well. This would have been her first time to encounter this big of a crowd. She was more like... culture shocked about it. This is the reason why the interview was cancelled. That's all. Now, get out of this building and wait till our next interview."

But this was media they were talking about. Of course they wouldn't back-off just because the prince said so. They wanted to get information beyond what Natsume said, and because of this and his lack of bouncers, Natsume immediately got herded. Accidentally, his mouth got hit by an anonymous newsmonger's microphone. This made Natsume snap.

"_Goddamn it!_" His voice echoed throughout the hallway and caught all of the staff's attention. The members of the media hushed and backed away from the fuming Natsume.

One of the photographers took a picture of Natsume with his mouth bleeding and his eyes spitting anger, but someone held the camera. When the photographer looked up, he saw Tsubasa pouting. He broke out in sweat.

"That's bad, Mister. Please forgive me for what I'll do." Tsubasa flashed his smile, grabbed the camera away from him, and dropped it. He stomped on it as it got destroyed. He walked to Natsume and blocked his face. "Hurting my talent is a no, no, everyone! I'm very pissed off right now so please leave."

Guards hurriedly made their way to the two young men and guided them back to their dressing room. On the way, Tsubasa giggled and tapped Natsume's shoulder as he whispered, "I knew you wouldn't make it. Tch, acting like a hero for your girlfriend. Natsume, I would have definitely fallen in love with you if I were a girl."

Natsume removed Tsubasa's hand from his shoulder and glowered at him. "_Fake_ girlfriend, he corrected for the second time, his jaw clenching at the first word."And I'm not doing this for friggin' free. She'll pay for my effort and," he touched his bleeding mouth, "for my injury."

×Ø×

Mikan roughly opened the door of The Strangers' dressing room and walked in, ignoring everyone's presence. Hotaru had her emotionless face on Mikan. Then she averted her gaze from Mikan to the television. The television was showing Natsume's cover-up about the interview cancellation.

Mikan's eyes widened when she saw Natsume.

The program showed the part where Natsume got hit by a microphone and where he snapped and cursed live. Mikan covered her mouth, "Oh my God."

Everyone in the room was surprised.

"By the way, Mikan. Natsume didn't do that on his own freewill," Misaki said and put her hands on her hips. "He wants something from you. I don't know what that is, though."

Mikan's brow twitched. "I knew he didn't do that for free. I will never give him what he wants, whatever it is." She folded her arms on her chest and looked at the television. Her face showed worry at the lad. "Although, I might visit him and take a look at his face."

"Well, his image will totally get ruined by what he did," Sumire said and pouted. "Visiting him won't be enough."

"I agree with that." Hotaru raised her right hand. "I think _you_ should do something for him."

Mikan looked at them in disbelief. They all shrugged, which made her give up and shake her head. "Geez. Whatever, masters."

Hotaru smirked.

×Ø×

_Knock. Knock._

"Please excuse our intrusion," Luna staid, before she and her group went inside.

The elegance of the whole office astounded them.

"Hello, ladies," a husky voice welcomed them. They looked around the area and saw a man in his mid-twenties sitting on his bulky, leather-coated chair. "How may I help you?"

"Ah, we are the group called Back-Street. Uhh, we'd like to talk about the contract you offered," Luna said and bowed.

Yura hit her side using her arm as she hissed, "This is once in a lifetime chance, Luna. Do not mess it up."

Luna pushed her and glared at her. "Shh! Shut it."

"Have you decided to accept it?" Jinno, the CEO of Notes, stood up and made a gesture offering them to sit on the couch while he sat on one side of it, crossing his legs.

Luna bit her lip and stared at the floor. "Actually, we'd like to turn down the offer."

The girls sadly glanced at Luna but remained quiet.

Jinno was taken aback by this and noticed the look that the girls gave to Luna. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger as he smiled. "How about…" He stopped for awhile and reached for the remote control of his television and switched it on. "We—"

"**Mikan Sakura is my girlfriend…"**

Jinno's eyes slowly went wide as he watched Natsume talked on television. Natsume's words registered in his head while his rage, little by little, piled up. Before he could throw the vase beside him, he got back to his senses with the girls' shrieks at Natsume getting hit by a microphone.

"Girls, you can take your time to talk about this issue with yourselves. Leave for now." Jinno said. The group looked at each other then nodded at Jinno. "Before you leave, can you inform Andou Tsubasa and Hyuuga Natsume to come here as soon as possible?"

"Yes, we will Mr. Jinno." They could sense his anger so they didn't talk anymore and quietly went out of the room.

Minutes passed and by the time they got off the elevator, they saw Tsubasa and Natsume surrounded by the guards. The two managed to get in the dressing room but the media people were still trying to infiltrate so the guards didn't leave the entrance. This became a problem for the girls.

"You have Tsubasa-kun's number, right?" Yuna asked Luna.

Luna looked sideways and scratched her head. "I…uh…don't?" She faked a laugh.

Everyone imitated her laugh mockingly then glowered at her.

"What? That Tsubasa didn't call me by his phone! I mean, do you expect a big-time manager calling me using his phone and revealing his number to nobody like me?"

Shizune glanced at the receptionist's table, and rested her eyes on the microphone. "I think I know how to solve this problem." She nodded with a smirk on her lips. "Wait here. I'll go and be the hero of the day." Shizune proudly walked towards the reception and stopped in front of the front desk.

"What can I do for you?" The girl asked her nicely.

Shizune took a deep breath and quickly told her the story, like a recorder playing in fast-forward.

When she finished and finally caught her breath, the girl blinked and looked at her companion. Then, she nodded and smiled, as she put the microphone on. "Attention, Mr. Andou and Mr. Hyuuga. Jinno-sama needs you in his office immediately. Thank you."

"You are today's savior. I give you my utmost gratitude." Shizune bowed and went back to her friends.

×Ø×

"Dang! That was a close death!" Tsubasa joked.

"You—" Natsume got cut by an announcement.

_Attention, __Mr. Andou and Mr. Hyuuga. Jinno-sama needs you in his office immediately. Thank two looked at each other._

"What was that?" Natsume asked.

Tsubasa went pale. "I think we really are getting closer to death."

"Hey," Koko called. Natsume and Tsubasa looked at their group-mates. "Good luck, guys!" They all gave a synchronize bow.

"Shut up!" Natsume and Tsubasa chorused and went out of the room.

The good thing was that the reporters were not there anymore.

×Ø×

Narumi's eyes bulged and almost fell out of his seat as he watched Natsume _profess_ love for his one and only Mikan. At least that was how it looked like to him: profess. He knew how enraged Mikan became when it was about Hyuuga Natsume. This was probably a joke.

Wait.

What did he say again?

"**We are in love with each other."**

And?

"**A relationship is not a child's game to be played so we are serious about this."**

_Ohh…_

He snapped, grabbed the telephone, and shouted, "_FREAKING GET MISAKI'S ASS UP HERE! NOW!_"

"You don't have to yell—I can hear you just fine," Misaki said. Her back leaned on the wall just beside Narumi.

T.B.C

**Author's Message: **Oh, hai! This chapter was proofread by _Seru-chan_. If anyone needs a proofreader, please check this profile out: **ImaginationUnleashed Beta Nook**. It contains very reliable beta readers than can help you improve your writing skills. Thank you very much!

_©minahoru and Seru-chan._


	12. Troubles

**Disclaimer: **Most of the characters used are from Gakuen Alice and Higuchi Tachibana is the sole owner. Story plot is mine; any kind of similarities from others are purely coincidence. ;)

**Author's Message: **Hello everyone! Another chapter for the week! I hope everyone will like this. Enjoy!

×Ø×

**S T A G E – T W E L V E**

_Troubles_

minahoru

×Ø×|

"Explain," Jinno said without looking at the two lads who just entered his premises and was now standing in front of him.

Tsubasa scratched the back of his head. "They are newlyweds, Jin…"

Natsume hit Tsubasa's head and glared at him, his eyes almost shouting that his manager didn't help at all. Then he looked at Jinno and said, "No—I mean, we just started going out a couple of days ago."

"And why did it become a headline without me knowing?" Jinno tapped his index finger on his table as he looked up and intently stared at Natsume's eyes. "_For God's sake, Hyuuga Natsume! _The group is preparing for an album. A new set of images for The Outsiders!"

"You mean that dance thing? I was clear to you, oldie. I told you that I didn't want that project, yet you insisted meeting those bitchy back-street teachers! And besides, going out with Mikan won't destroy anything!" Natsume retorted.

"H-Hey, calm down…" Tsubasa held Natsume's shoulder but Natsume shook it off.

"Your group was supposed to destroy The Strangers, not become Mikan Sakura's lover. And yes, you told me to stop the project, but I continued it. You don't want it to pursue because of your ridiculous memories in the past! You can't continue running away from it, Natsume." Jinno stood up and put his hand over Natsume's head. "You have to face them."

Natsume slapped Jinno's hand away from him and shook his head. "You're not my father to tell me what to do, oldie. Find other guys out there for you to dictate."

Natsume walked out of the office, leaving Tsubasa behind. As Tsubasa turned his head to Jinno, his face went pale.

"Tell me what happened to Mikan Sakura and Natsume," Jinno demanded, still crushing the already broken pencil in his hands.

Tsubasa gulped. _I'll tell whatever story comes in my head…_

×Ø×

"You're telling me that they are truly in a relationship," Narumi coughed out a laugh and shook his head. "And you are asking me to believe that, Misaki Harada?"

Misaki nodded with a smile. "Oh yes, of course." She held her thumbs up and winked.

Narumi faked a smile then he smacked Misaki's head. "Don't give me that silly cutesy act of yours, Misaki. It won't work for now."

Misaki pouted: Narumi's right. Now's not the time for her to twist his mind with her silly acts. But then she's not to be blamed! Narumi, despite his girly personality, is very weak to cute acting of girls. If she were to weaken Narumi and set off his mind on Mikan's issues then she might not get into trouble of explaining him _lies_.

"But it's true, Naru!" Misaki cried out. "Mikan and Natsume are _deeeeeeply _in love with each other."

Narumi squinted his eyes. "There's no way I'll believe that. _Even a single mention of Natsume Hyuuga's name quickly irritates her." _

"Actually, Mikan doesn't want their relationship to be known in public. And she especially didn't want you to know about it, Narumi. I don't know why, but she clearly told us not to tell you. That's why I'm here. I thought I could stop you from watching the news-I was too late though." Misaki bit her inner cheek. Everything she said was a lie, and it depends on Mikan if she could say something to support it. For now, this was the best she could think of.

Narumi sighed. There was this lone reason that he could think of why Mikan would keep her relationship with Natsume to him as a secret. But that reason was solely his opinion. He still needed to hear what Mikan has to say. He nodded his head and said to Misaki, "Please call Mikan. I need to talk to her right away."

×Ø×

"O-Onii-chan…"

Aoi had her hands before her opened mouth while Youichi, who stood beside her, had his eyes widely open like that of an owl's. _Both were looking at the big LED monitor attached at the middle part of the tallest building at the center of Tokyo, which flashed the interview of _famous Natsume Hyuuga.

"Is he serious? Why did he—"

"Freaking OMG, You-chan! I didn't know that my brother's madly in love with Mikan-nee!" Aoi shook Youichi and squealed, catching people's attention.

"S-Stop t-that!" Youichi said, stuttering due to Aoi's continuous shaking and slapping on his shoulder.

Youichi sighed. His sister is clearly in trouble and it seems that this fake relationship with Natsume Hyuuga would be something she would regret. There are two things that could happen in this announcement from his senpai. First, fans would either like or hate it, and second, if the fans would like it, producers and directors would do all they could for them to have a music video, a movie or even a commercial together or even a commercial together and if the fans would hate it, they would never accept them and that would be the end of both of the band's careers.

"Hey! That's Aoi-chan and Youichi!"

"Let's take a picture!"

"They look so good together! OMG, don't tell me they're dating!"

Youichi _turned his head sharply to the crowd_ that was starting to block their way. His sweat comically dropped. He couldn't afford to have a scandal with her sister,who was already in trouble. Without further ado, he grabbed Aoi's hand and ran away from the fans who started taking pictures of them.

"You-chan…?" Aoi looked at their entwined hands and blushed. "Our ha—"

"Shut up and run fast!" Youichi put his cap on Aoi's head. Good thing he had his sunglasses on. "Keep that cap safe, it's my fave."

"Okay…" Aoi muttered and held the cap tightly with her free hand.

×Ø×

"You know what? I don't see any reason why Jinno's so eager for the downfall of The Strangers." Natsume frowned and gulped his grape juice.

"Right. I can accept it if it's us. I mean, it is natural for us to like it whenever The Stranger's in trouble because they're our rivals." Mochu raised his shoulders as he ate his pan bread.

"That's not it, Mochu. We're actually doing this rival thing because Jin-Jin ordered us. Isn't it, Natsume? I also don't get Jin-Jin," Ruka laughed. He grabbed some cookies and sighed.

"Do you think there's _another _issue between Notes and Metier?" Yuu said, and everyone turned their attention to him.

"How can you say that, Yuu?" Koko said, half-laughing.

"Everyone saw it, right? The way Mikan acted when Metier got insulted? She said that we don't really know Notes, or something between the lines." Yuu shrugged and scratched his head. "I've been thinking about what she said. Haha. Maybe she knows something that we don't know?"

Natsume touched his lips with his thumb and looked sideways. "Maybe…"

"Oh well, for now we should start practicing the dance for our single, Purple Line," Ruka said as he pointed his thumb at the back where Back-Street stood. "They waited for the media to come out and I think they deserve our attention now. So Natsume, you can do this dance right?"

Natsume rolled his eyes and stood up. "I have no choice."

×Ø×

"You called?"

Mikan took a seat on the couch while Misaki went out of the office. _Narumi stood up, sat beside Mikan and held her hands, gently rubbing it. _Mikan blinked in wonder and smiled.

Narumi sighed. "Why did you…keep your relationship with Natsume as a secret to me, Mikan?"

Mikan's eyes went big.

"I," was the only word that went out from her mouth. "How did you know…?"

"From Natsume's interview," Narumi answered. "Did you keep it from me because of the issue between me and Jinno?"

She frowned. This was too sudden to happen. She wasn't ready for this! She should tell Narumi that it was just a fake relationship and it's Ruka that she's dating. No, wait. it would make things more complicated! Ahh, whatever. She would say anything in her mind.

"I was afraid that it could affect your plans, Narumi." Mikan gulped. She didn't expect that to come out from her own mouth! "I know. My parents know what Jinno's father did to your father, and how you and Jinno became enemies. We know the things that you did just to have this company. I don't want to waste all of that now."

Narumi's eyes became tender as he hugged Mikan. "Mikan, Natsume is just a part of Notes. He doesn't know anything about that issue so I don't think it's wrong for the two of you to love each other." He broke the hug and beamed at Mikan.

"I was just thinking of what you might feel, Narumi," Mikan said.

Narumi nodded. "I know that. I'm just upset that you didn't tell me about this beforehand." He patted Mikan's head. "But don't worry. This will not ruin your and Natsume's career. I will help you two get projects."

"Eh?"

Narumi put his hands on Mikan's cheeks as he squished it like a stuff toy. "You two have to be the best and the perfect couple in this industry."

Mikan became sweaty all of a sudden. _Now I think that is a problem._

**Bang.**

"Mikan-nee! Did you watch it?"

Mikan and Narumi turned their heads to the lad who opened the door and was now catching his breath. "You-chan?" She uttered. Then she looked at the girl beside her brother. Her brow went up. "A-Aoi?"

×Ø×

Tsubasa closed the door behind him. He leaned his back against the door and heaved a sigh. Good thing Jinno didn't ask for more information and just listened to his lies. If he told him that it was just a fake relationship and Ruka was the real lover of Mikan, Jinno would have erupted. His thoughts were cut when his phone rang.

"Hello?" Tsubasa asked on the line.

"_Ah, Tsubasa-kun? This is Ruka's mother. I want to talk to him but his phone is off."_

"I'm very sorry Ma'am, but I'm currently not with Ruka. But if you're willing to wait for…" Tsubasa ran towards the elevator, "...three minutes or so, you'd be able to get in touch with him."

"_Sure, sure! No problem. I'm sorry for the__ disturbance. I just need to talk to him, for family reasons."_

"I perfectly understand." Tsubasa went off the elevator and hurriedly went in the dressing room. He saw Ruka dancing with the Back-Street so he held his hand up as a gesture of calling Ruka. Ruka obliged and walked towards Tsubasa.

Tsubasa covered his phone and whispered to Ruka, "It's your mother."

Ruka cringed, wondering why his mom would call. He took Tsubasa's phone and answered, "Mom?"

"_Ruka! I've been trying to contact you! Why is your phone off?"_

"I'm sorry, I was rehearsing something for our—"

"_Nevermind. Anyway, I want you to go straight to my favorite restaurant."_

Ruka raised his eyebrow, "Why? I still have work here. I don't think I'll be out of work early."

"_This is important. You're going to meet your soon-to-be lover."_

His eyes went wide as he choked on his own saliva. "Wha-? Mom! I told you, I don't need one!"

"_We talked about this before, Ruka. The agreement was that you have to introduce a decent girlfriend to us first before you could turn down our offer."_

Ruka went quiet. He bit his lower lip and looked at his best friend, wondering what Natsume would have done if he was in his situation. _Suddenly, Mikan's face popped in his mind—the very thought of introducing her to his mother worried him, and it made him shake his head. _It wasn't right to bring Mikan any more danger than what she has now. _But then, he actually did this fake relationship with her so that he could introduce her to his parents and-_"

"_Ruka Nogi! Come to your senses and show yourself in this restaurant right away!"_

Ruka hit his forehead. "But I—"

"_No buts!"_

Ruka rolled his eyes—this wasn't the time to think twice! "But Mom, I—"

"_Nooo buts! Ruka, don't make me angry—"_

"Mom, listen!" Ruka shouted. He paused for a while as the others snapped their attention to him. Natsume walked towards Ruka and was about to ask what was wrong, but Ruka held his hand up and continued, "I have a girlfriend!"

Natsume's eyes _widened__._ _"I have a girlfriend and she's very decent, and I think you'll like her. _I'll introduce her to you, but now is not the right time." Before his mother could talk more, Ruka dropped the phone call then looked in his best friend's eyes as he sighed.

"So Aunt didn't know that Mikan's has been your girl for two months?" Natsume asked.

"One month, Nat. Yeah, I didn't tell her about Mikan." Ruka answered.

"Why?"

Ruka shrugged, "I was afraid they'd reject her. I'll go first. Just tell Koizumi-san that I have an emergency to attend to." He tapped Natsume's shoulder and walked, but he stopped midway to look back at Natsume. "I really love Mikan, you know. I don't want her to get hurt."

Ruka turned around and shook his head as he thought, _Seriously, Ruka. You're getting better at lying to your best bud._ He ran his hand on his face. _I'm sorry, Natsume._

* * *

_Credits to: Imagination: Unleashed Beta Nook _


End file.
